Becoming Klingon
by Space Viking
Summary: Born to an Orion slave girl, Nita nevertheless dreams of being a starship captain like her father. But that dream takes an unexpected turn when a pirate attack leaves her orphaned and alone. Taken in by her Klingon rescuers, Nita must not only survive the toughest warrior culture in the galaxy but prove her worth in battle, if she is to have any hope of fulfilling her dreams.
1. Pirates

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit. Stardates were calculated with the help of the TNG Stardate Calculator available on TrekGuide .com and may be slightly out of sync with those used in the game's lore.

* * *

 _ **Part I: Survivor**_

* * *

 ** _Pirates_**

* * *

NFV Grumbak _, Earth Stardate 70196_

 _Privateer Captain Majorog's Report to Gorn Hegemony:_

 _We slip past regular Klingon patrols by cutting through Federation space. Federation long-range science cruiser shadow us for three days, but they do not fight. They have no_ guramba _! They still seek "diplomatic solution" to our war with Klingons. Heh! Meanwhile, we slip in behind Klingons and engage targets of opportunity…for good of Gorn Hegemony, of course!_

* * *

"Report!" roared Captain Majorog, striding through the blast doors that separated the bridge from the rest of the Nausicaan destroyer _Grumbak_. The general-quarters alarm wailed in the background, but the big Nausicaan had not felt his ship buckle under fire on his way here. Obviously the battle had yet to begin, and that pleased him. His tusks flexed in an alien smile. "Where is Federation dog that has been tailing us?"

"They have fallen back, Captain," his second-in-command, Rokek, explained, waving his fist dismissively at their Federation foe. "We pass into Klingon space half hour ago, and they do not pursue."

"Of course they don't," Majorog said, and barked a laugh. "I told you, humans have no _guramba_!"

The crew guffawed. The _Cochrane_ -class science vessel that had been tailing the _Grumbak_ for the past three days was nearly three times its size and—unlike the _Intrepid_ -class its design was based on—the _Cochrane_ -class ships were armed and armored in proportion to their size. Majorog's _Scourge_ -class destroyer would have been completely outmatched, but the Federation captain had hesitated like a coward, unwilling to create a _diplomatic incident_ by firing on a Nausicaan ship and risking his government's supposed neutrality—even when he'd caught _Grumbak_ taking a short-cut through Federation space on a clear mission of piracy. It had been a bold move, but it had paid off handsomely, and now they were in Klingon space undetected by their enemy.

At least, so the Nausicaan Captain assumed. "Any sign of Klingon ships?"

"None, sir," said Rokek.

Majorog ground his tusks together. "Then which of you _idiots_ sound general-quarters?!"

"I do, sir!" said Rokek, standing up. His tusks parted in a vicious smile. "I think you like to see what we have found!" He gestured to the small square viewscreen at the front of the bridge.

There a green hulled ship hung against the warp-blurred starfield. Majorog could make out the oblong bulge of a cargo section, just forward of the ship's oval-shaped engines. "Orion corvette," he breathed. Just months ago the green-skins had allied themselves with the Klingons and started causing trouble for his Gorn backers. The chance to get back at some of them…

"Better than corvette," said Rokek, interrupting his thoughts. "It has been converted as personnel transport. It moves civilians to new Orion homeworld in Klingon space. It is slow, barely armed, and on direct course for Ter'jas Mor."

Majorog smiled himself. "Excellent." Klingon patrols could always be cloaked, but they had better things to do with their time than patrol the border of a neutral ally like the Federation, and even if they were out there the Grumbak would be more than a match for a single _B'rel_ -class bird-of-prey. Meanwhile, the prospect of civilian passengers was exciting. "They make excellent slaves," he said to his men. "But we have no room or supplies for slaves, so we will enjoy killing them all!" He pointed a taloned finger at the ship on the viewscreen. "Lock weapons on ship! Disable its engines!" He breathed deeply, listening to the bustle as his men carried out the order, savoring the moment of the kill. Then he shouted, "Fire!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Here's the first chapter of the long-promised "Becoming Klingon" story. It's finally done and I'll start posting it up here as I have time. I hope you enjoy! The story is broken up into three parts.

According to the lore of _Star Trek Online_ 's backstory, as laid out in _The Path to 2409_ , Nausicaans acted as mercenaries and privateers for the Klingon Empire, and for the Gorn Hegemony before them. During the period when this part of the story takes place (2394) they were definitely allied with the Gorn, who were still at war with the Klingon Empire. As for their depiction, I strayed away from the sympathetic and relatable depiction of ENT: "Fortunate Son" in favor of the classic Nausicaan bad guys from TNG and DS9, complete with poor grammar. The while no in-universe explanation has been given, its possible that since the 22nd Century the Nausicaans underwent cultural as well as military decline as they became less of a threat and less civilized than their forebears (similar but different to the decline experienced by the Orions over the same period).

"NFV" is the registry used by Nausicaan vessels in _Star Trek Online_. According to the STO wiki it stands for "Nausicaan Free Vessel." Majorog is a Nausicaan character who appears in the game in the mission "Duties of Command." _Guramba_ is a word vaguely meaning guts, courage, etc.

The _Cochrane_ -class is the beefiest and boxiest of STO's Federation Long Range Science Vessel's based on the _Intrepid_ -class (most famously represented by the starship _Voyager_ ), and is said in the lore to be even tougher and more self-sufficient than the _Intrepid_ -class. Coming in at 336 meters long, its roughly three times the size of the 175 meter Nausicaan _Scourge_ -class (according to the size charts available on the STO wiki). Nevertheless, as Majorog remarks, the Federation was studiously maintaining its neutrality during the Gorn-Klingon War.

The Orions, meanwhile had just recently allied with the Klingons, becoming their vassals in 2394 after being granted a new homeworld within Klingon Space on Ter'jas Mor. An Orion corvette is a small NPC vessel in STO, 200 meters long according to the size chart. In combat they're rated as tier 1 enemies, while _Scourge_ -class destroyers are solidly Tier 2. With this ship having been further converted as a personnel transport, it would stand even less of a chance than normal.


	2. The Raid

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect World. All are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

 _ **The Raid**_

* * *

OSS Melani's Jewel _, Year of Kahless 1020, Day 112, 10:45 Hours, Ter'jas Mor Time_

 _Nita D'blae's personal messages:_

 _Dear Momma,_

 _Rema says the freighter we're on has just passed the Klingon border on its way to Ter'jas Mor. She says I'll like the planet, but I don't know. I've never been on a planet before, and it's so far away from Drozana Station. I wish you were here with me…but I know you'll say that's not the point. I've got to train for my future so I can be a_ lodubyaln _like you, maybe meet people like my dad…but it's hard. I know I should be making friends, but the other girls are so dull, and they look at me funny! It's like they've never seen an Orion-Human hybrid before…_

* * *

As the Orion freighter _Melani's Jewel_ crossed the border into Klingon space, Nita D'blae sat in one of the cargo holds with over two dozen other five-year old Orion girls. The girls sat cross-legged in the plain white tunics of _lodubyaln_ (or slave-girl) initiates and listened as Rema gave them their first lesson to prepare them for their future lives: a lesson in Klingonese.

Nita wasn't really listening, though. She'd learned Klingonese from her mother and the bar patrons on Drozana Station. By the time she was four she'd been able to carry on a conversation in Klingonese, Low Kolari, Ferengi, or English, while she bet most of these girls were still working on their native tongue. Even now she could tell that Klingonese was going to take them a while. Most of these girls were slaughtering the pronunciation of _nuqDaq 'oH puch''e'_ so badly that they were more likely to get laughed at than shown the way to the restroom by a real Klingon.

She sighed. It was going to take them forever to get to interesting stuff like Klingon history and culture. Nita had overheard stories about them from Klingons on Drozana, but she longed to hear more. Her mother called it her explorer's appetite. _"You get it from your father,"_ she'd told Nita, proudly tapping the old Starfleet combadge her daughter wore as a necklace. _"He was a starship captain, you know."_

Nita had smiled then as she did now. She fished the combadge-turned-pendant out of the loose neck of her tunic and fingered it idly.

"Whatcha got there, Pinky?" whispered a larger girl to Nita's left.

Nita was startled and tried to hide the pendant again, tucking it back into her tunic.

The girl saw it, though. "Oh, a necklace! Let me see!" she whispered, reaching toward it with fat green fingers.

Nita pulled away. "No!" She looked toward Rema, but in the cargo hold full of fidgeting and chattering children, she hadn't even noticed the disturbance.

"Aww, come on, Pinky," the girl said, grabbing at Nita's tunic.

Nita managed to pull away again, though the other girl was strong. "Stop it!" she hissed. "And stop calling me Pinky!"

"But that's what you are," the girl taunted. She pointed at her own deep emerald skin. "See, I'm green, but you're pink!"

Nita looked down at her own skin, which was a very pale shade of green, with a slight rosy tint to it. "S-so?" she said, trying to make it sound like the observation didn't bother her.

"So, that means you're not really an Orion," said the girl. "My mommy says so. My mommy says there are mongrel children whose parents aren't even the same species." She smirks. "You must be one of those. You're a mongrel! I bet you never even knew your real daddy. I bet your mommy was too embarrassed to even tell you who he was!"

Nita's cheeks heated at the cruel girl's words. She felt her eyes sting with tears even as her hands curled into fists.

"Aww, even your cheeks glow pink, Pinky!" the girl taunted.

Nita couldn't stand another second of it. Without thinking, she swung her fist at the other girl's gut. Nita may have been smaller and weaker, but she knew how to put all her weight behind a punch. It was enough to bowl the bigger girl over backwards. At the same time, Nita shot to her feet and shouted, "I'm not a pinky! Stop calling me that! My daddy was a starship captain!"

Instantly, there was silence in the cargo hold. Nita realized all the other girls were staring at her, and at the larger girl, who was doubled over on the floor, crying loudly. She wondered if she shouldn't have hit her so hard.

Then Rema said, "Nita D'blae! Come here!" Her voice was as cold as ice, and it made Nita afraid to obey, afraid to be anywhere near her.

In that moment, that split-second decision of a child, her fate was decided and her life forever altered. Nita shook her head silently at the teacher's command and ran from the room.

She bolted for the nearest maintenance hatch by instinct, palming it open and crawling inside. She scrambled through the crawlway beyond, fleeing from Rema. A moment later, she heard the maintenance hatch open again and Rema shouted, "Get back here this instant!"

Nita didn't stop, but instead broke into a crouched run, ducking under cables and hopping over support beams. She heard the fumbling sounds of Rema's pursuit behind her, but she plunged onward. Children were faster than adults, especially in tight spaces. She had learned this on Drozana Station and it proved true here as well. As Nita rushed forward, the sounds of Rema's cursing and pounding pursuit faded into the distance until they were completely lost in the mechanical thrum of the ship itself.

Only then did Nita stop to see where she was. Her twisting flight had taken her to a dead end by a small unlabeled access hatch. She pressed her ear against the door. She could hear voices on the other side, adult voices. From the tone, they seemed to be deep in some serious conversation. That meant they were distracted. Nita smiled. If she was quick and quiet, she could probably get by them without them even realizing she was there!

She palmed open the access hatch and peeked through. The hatch led out onto a narrow catwalk that hung just below the ceiling and followed the perimeter of a large circular room. Below she could see half a dozen bare-chested Orion men working various consoles around the room, with one man sitting proudly in a lone central seat. Behind him stood a beautiful woman in the skimpy outfit of a fully-trained _lodubyaln_ , and in front of him on the far wall was a large display that showed stars streaking by at what could only be warp speed.

Nita gasped. This had to be the bridge! She'd never been on the bridge of a starship before, much less one traveling at warp. She clasped a hand over her mouth to contain her own excitement, then padded out onto the catwalk on bare feet, closing the hatch quietly behind her. None of the adults below had noticed her. They were too busy with their intense conversation.

"I have visual confirmation of our initial readings: Nausicaan destroyer, _Scourge_ -class," one of the men said.

"On screen, maximum magnification," said the man in the center seat—the Captain. The image on the viewscreen changed to show an aft view, with stars retreating away at warp. Between them a large brown ship sped, growing larger by the second. Its twin hulls were vertically stacked with aggressive curves, swept wings, and yellow running lights.

Nita realized with excitement that this was the Nausicaan ship, and that it was pursuing them. The danger and disparity of the situation did not occur to her at first, drowned out by the realization that she was about to witness her first space battle, from the bridge of an _actual_ starship!

"They're almost in weapon's range," said the first man. "Still no sign of Klingon patrols."

The _lodubyaln_ cast a nervous glance at the ship on the viewscreen. "Dear, don't you think we should broadcast a distress signal?"

The Captain nodded. "Do it, all frequencies!" he said tersely.

One of the men in the back scrambled to obey.

"They're entering range!" the first man warned. "They have a torpedo lock!"

"Raise shields!" said the Captain. "All hands, brace for impact!"

Everyone on the bridge grabbed onto something. Nita imitated the adults out of habit, grasping one of the catwalk's cable supports. Then her eyes went wide as a bright point of red light separated itself from the Nausicaan ship and grew larger and larger until it filled the screen. Suddenly, she was afraid.

A moment later, everything shook violently. Nita slipped from the catwalk. She hung over open air. Only her grip on the cable kept her from falling. Then something exploded right over her head in a shower of sparks. She screamed and let go reflexively. She landed on one of the consoles, and one of the men.

The Orion man gave her a startled, disbelieving look, then glanced over his shoulder, unsure what to do. "Uh, sir…?"

The Captain glanced briefly at her, sprawling dazed across one of the consoles, but he had other matters to attend to. "Get her off my bridge!" he said.

The man pushed Nita off the console and onto the deck. She managed to land on her feet and hurried away from the man into a corner of the room. The man was too busy to go after her. Around her the adults were all talking at once, and all in urgent, worried tones. This battle suddenly wasn't fun anymore. She wished she were somewhere far away, back on Drozana Station with her mother.

"Warp dirve took a direct hit from that torpedo!" one of the men warned. "We're dropping to impulse speeds."

"They're coming out of warp right on top of us!" said the man Nita had landed on. "Shields at 38%!"

"Stand by disruptors!" said the Captain.

"No, there's no way we'll penetrate their shields and armor!" said the _lodubyaln_. "Take evasive action!"

"They're staying with us!" warned the man at the forward console.

"Try to surrender!" the _lodubyaln_ said.

But before anyone could respond to that, the ship shook again, harder. Nita heard the sound of a distant explosion and was knocked off her feet, landing with her back against the forward console. Then across from her, the man she'd landed on suddenly went flying as his console burst apart in flames and sparks. He hit the deck dead, covered in green blood.

It wasn't the first time Nita had seen a man die. The first was a few months ago, where a couple of thugs had tried to mug her mother in one of Drozana's isolated corridors. Still, the sight affected her. It signaled to her that the time for hiding and watching was over, that—as her mother said—it was time to either kill or be killed. She did not want to die. Instinct and her mother's basic self-defense training took over. Running away didn't even occur to her: in a space battle there was nowhere to run. She pushed herself to her feet and prepared to fight for her life.

She didn't have to wait long for an opportunity to do so. As the smoke cleared on the bridge, the men around it shouted in alarm. "Shields are down! We've got a hull breach in Cargo Bay 4!"

The _lodubyaln_ swore. "That was one of the passenger sections. The children were in there!"

"They're gone now!" said the first man. "That whole section's open to vacuum! They never stood a chance."

Before he could even finish, another man interrupted. "Sir! We've got boarders beaming in: all decks, all sections!"

To justify his words, columns of amber transporter energy appeared around the bridge and swirled into the shapes of six muscular Nausicaans. Each was over two meters tall and wore bladed armor. They viewed the Orion crew with hungry eyes and hefted viciously serrated swords and battle axes.

Nita did not need the Captain's shouted command to know that these men were the enemies who wanted to kill her, the men she needed to fight. When her mother met the muggers on Drozana Station, Nita had been caught by surprise and her first punches had not landed until after the first man was dead and the second impaled on her mother's dance-fighting blades. But this time, Nita was prepared. She was among the first to throw herself into the fray, with the bravery that can only be mustered by those who do not fully understand the dangers of what they're doing.

She latched onto a Nausicaan's leg and punched the backside of his knee, throwing him off balance. The Nausicaan swung his sword at her, but the Orion at the forward console tackled him, going after his face with a utility knife.

Nita had already moved on. The whole bridge had become a melee and she struggled to find a target. She was not the only one fighting. She saw the _lodubyaln_ produce a pair of thin blades seemingly from nowhere. The woman flowed from opponent to opponent in a cadence of deadly thrusts and slashes. Meanwhile the Captain drew a disruptor pistol and shot one of the Nausicaans in the chest. Nita herself ducked between legs and threw punches and kicks at Nausicaans who were distracted by the other Orions. But there were too many Nausicaans, and they were too well armed. Already the other Orions on the bridge were being cut down.

Nita slipped in a pool of green blood and fell under an overturned chair. She watched helplessly as the Captain was beheaded from behind by a Nausicaan with a battle axe.

The _lodubyaln_ screamed and came at the Captain's killer, but another, bigger Nausicaan intercepted her. She buried her knives to the hilt in his chest, but he didn't flinch. Instead he headbutted her and she went down. Then the big Nausicaan finished her with a downward thrust of his sword. Her scream fell silent almost instantly.

Within the space of half a minute, Nita was the only living Orion on the bridge.

"Bridge is clear, Captain Majorog," one of the Nausicaans announced.

The big Nausicaan turned to survey the carnage, casually pulling the lodubyaln's knives out of his chest. They were slick with purple blood, but that didn't seem to bother him. His eyes at last landed on Nita, who was picking herself up off the deck. He glared at her. She glared at him. "You miss one, Rokek," he said and pointed a taloned finger at her. "Dispose of little rodent."

The Nausicaan who'd beheaded the Captain gurgled a laugh. "With pleasure, sir," he said. He lifted his axe and stepped toward Nita, but she dodged out of the way at the last moment. His swing buried his axe in the overturned chair instead. His comrades laughed as he struggled to extract it.

Nita knew they wouldn't stay laughing for long. Eventually, they would kill her, and with four of them on the bridge, there was no way she could escape. If she didn't fight back, she'd die. She didn't want to die. She scampered away from the struggling Nausicaan and went for the first weapon she saw: the Orion captain's disruptor pistol.

She grabbed it, rolled over, and pointed it at her Nausicaan attacker as she'd seen the Captain do. She pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.

Rokek left his axe where it was and turned on her, laughing himself now. "Poor little rodent," he mocked. "Too small to even disengage safety on pistol! Perhaps I should kill with something closer to rodent size." He drew a small curved dagger and stalked toward her.

Nita backed away until she bumped into the Captain's chair at the center of the bridge. She tried to concentrate through her fear. There was something important the Nausicaan had said, about why the pistol didn't work, something about a safety. _Of course! Adults put "safety switches" on all sorts of things to keep kids from using them_ , she realized. It was only natural they'd do the same thing to prevent children from using weapons as well. But she realized another thing. _Wherever there's a safety switch, there's a way past it, if you're clever._ Nita knew that although she wasn't strong, fast, big, beautiful, or knowledgeable, she was clever.

She tried to remember exactly how the Captain's large adult hand had gripped the pistol, how he'd held it and what he'd done with his fingers. That's when she noticed the button near the top of the pistol, where his thumb had rested. It was too far from the grip for her thumb to reach, but she still had her other hand. She smashed the button down with her left thumb and pulled the trigger again.

A green beam of energy lanced out from the pistol. Rokek's head erupted in smoke and flames. His body fell to the deck with a heavy thump.

For a moment, there was stunned silence on the bridge. Then Majorog shouted, "Kill her!"

Then everything happened at once.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** So I decided to make this update a two-parter because these chapters are so closely related, and because the first one doesn't even introduce the protagonist, Nita.

Rema was an Orion NPC running a brothel in the red light district of First City in Qo'noS, the Klingon capital, in the _Star Trek Online_ mission "Off the Beaten Path" which was discontinued when Klingon players got a full and updated introduction to the game. Drozana Station is a neutral run-down space station between Klingon and Federation territories that serves as a meeting place for aliens from both sides and features in several _Star Trek Online_ missions. In the game it's run by a Ferengi, and while Orion dancing girls aren't seen in the game, they would certainly fit the general atmosphere of the place.

Speaking of Orion women _lodubyaln_ are the professional Orion seductresses that are often referred to as Orion slave girls in other cultures. As the Enterprise episode "Bound" revealed, the concept of these women as slaves is an artfully maintained deception, since in reality their powerful pheromones and skilled manipulations mean that they are the true masters of Orion society, pulling the strings of their supposed owners. According to Memory Beta they are trained in, among other things, a special form of martial arts called dance-fighting, that uses small knives concealed...somewhere...there aren't many places to hide things on those skimpy costumes they wear!

"OSS" is the STO registry for Orion ships and stands for "Orion Syndicate Ship." I previously used it in _Survivors of Yamatai_ as the registry for the Orion-operated bird-of-prey _OSS Cluros_. The name _Melani's Jewel_ is a tribute to the Emerald Empress Melani D'ian, the head of the Orion Syndicate in _Star Trek Online_.

The calendar and time system used here is one of my own making first used in _Survivors of Yamatai_ , and designed to match the canon Klingon Year of Kahless dating system as closely as possible. It's worth noting that while the years are about the same length, I changed the day length to just 18 hours, based on the fact that the tutorial mission and the _Hayes Owner's Manual for the B'rel-Class Bird-of-Prey_ (yes, it exists, and as a nerd I had to have one) both attest to dividing the work on a bird-of-prey up into three 6 hour long shifts. Thus midday is 09:00 hours, morning falls around 4:30, and evening is about 13:30. Thus, this chapter falls in the afternoon.

The Klingon language has variously been called both "Klingonese" and "Klingon." I choose to call it Klingonese as this differentiates it a little better from the people who speak it. Low Kolari is the common Orion language used by the lower classes, according to Memory Beta. English is still seen in prevalent use in the Federation, with enough direct references to it attesting to its commonality even if one dismisses the language spoken by actual characters on screen as a trick of making things more understandable to the viewer.


	3. Rescue

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect World. All are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

 _ **Rescue**_

* * *

IKS Ki'tang _, Year of Kahless 1020, Day 112, 11:10 hours_

 _Record of Battle,_ IKS Ki'tang _, Captain Morath recording:_

 _Year of Kahless 1020, Day 112, 15:30 hours_

 _We are responding to a distress signal from an Orion transport near the Federation border. The distress signal indicated the transport was under attack by Nausicaan pirates, working for our enemies, the Gorn. Patrols in this sector are scarce and we are the only Klingon vessel in the vicinity. Thus, our response is with neither the speed nor the force I would desire, but I cannot question the bravery or skill of the warriors of the_ Ki'tang _, nor the glorious history of our vessel. We will bring honor to the Empire and rescue our allies…or we will avenge their deaths upon these Nausicaan jackals!_ Qapla' _!_

* * *

Captain Morath leaned forward in the center seat of the bird-of-prey _Ki'tang_ , watching the two ships on the forward viewscreen grow larger: the Orion victim flanked by the menacing shape of a Nausicaan destroyer. Atmosphere and bodies could be seen venting from the wounded Orion vessel's flank. "Report!" he ordered.

"The Orion ship's beacon reads as the _OSS Melani's Jewel_ , a _Buccaneer_ -class corvette modified into a personnel transport. She's the source of the distress call," said Lieutenant Doran. "According to her manifest, she was ferrying nearly two hundred civilians to Ter'jas Mor, most of them women and children." The science officer gritted her teeth. "Now I'm only reading about 50 life-signs aboard, and most of them are Nausicaans!"

A low rumble of disgust ran through the bridge at an opponent who would stoop to gutting women and children. "Cowards," Morath muttered himself.

"They have given us a great opportunity for glory, Captain," said Commander Jurlek, his first officer. "That's a _Scourge_ -class destroyer. It outguns us two to one, but we can take them by surprise today. Tactical, prepare a torpedo! Target their warp core!"

"Belay that!" said Morath, raising a hand. The gunner, T'Lak stopped immediately. Morath glared at Jurlek. "The destroyer is too close to the transport. If we breach the core both ships will be destroyed! Any survivors will be lost."

The gray-haired Klingon glared back at Morath. "If we hesitate, they will get away and _all_ will be lost!"

"There are still almost a dozen Orion lifeforms on the transport," said Doran. "I for one will not join these cowards in murdering women and children. Let's send them alone on their way to _Gre'thor_!"

"I concur," said Morath.

"You're making a mistake," said Jurlek.

"That is for me to decide!" Morath said. His hand flew to the hilt of his _d'k tagh_. "Do not question my decisions, Uncle, unless you mean to challenge me!"

Jurlek stepped back, but his glare did not soften. "Far be it from me to challenge the judgment of a great warrior like yourself," he said.

Morath accepted it for now. He could not afford to let more innocents die at these pirate's hands while he quarreled with his in-laws. "T'Lak, target the destroyer's shield generators and prepare to drop cloak!"

The tactical officer nodded and pulled down the gunner's periscope. "Weapons locked," she reported.

"Execute!" Morath ordered.

The lithe _B'rel_ -class sprang into action. The ruddy bridge lights wavered as _Ki'tang_ decloaked. A second later a photon torpedo streaked toward the Nausicaan ship, followed closely by the green streaks of disruptor cannon fire. Explosions tore into the larger ship, perforating its elongated upper hull, but the battle was only beginning. Within seconds of the Ki'tang's opening shots, the destroyer returned fire. Angry green beams of disruptor energy glanced off the raider's shields, but not without damage.

The ship bucked from a hit and sparks flew from an overhead line. "Shields down to 73%!" warned the engineering officer, Lieutenant Ch'gren, at the rear of the bridge. "Starboard warp manifold damaged. Engineering is compensating!"

 _Minor damage_ , Morath thought, _but it will get worse the longer we're toe-to-toe with this thing._ "Break off the attack!" he ordered Lieutenant Kodrak at the helm. "Ch'gren, engage cloak as soon as we're clear!" Then he turned to tactical. "Aft torpedo! Target their engines!"

"Direct hit!" Doran reported a second later. "They're impulse engines are offline, and their shields are down. They're maneuvering on thrusters only."

"We're now cloaked," Ch'gren reported.

"That ought to have evened the fight some," said Morath. "Now it's a test of our speed and stealth against their guns and armor."

"A worthy battle," Kodrak remarked, cracking his knuckles in anticipation.

Suddenly an alert sounded at the science station. Doran cursed. "Sir, the Nausicaan cowards are retreating. They've beamed back their boarding parties and gone to warp!"

"The damage to our warp manifold will prevent us from pursuing them for at least half an hour," Ch'gren said, his disappointment evident and echoed by all.

Jurlek was not satisfied with this. He slammed his fist into a console. "I told you this would happen, Captain! We could have destroyed them with one shot, but you—!"

"Enough!" said Morath, shooting out of his chair and clutching his _d'k tagh_. That silenced the old fool, though in truth Morath could hardly justify killing him under the circumstances, his House was small and weak, and needed the support of an old noble like Jurlek of the House of Torg to exist, especially now that Martok was no more. Even if politics had been different, he did not relish his odds in combat against a cunning and experienced adversary like Jurlek. Instead he turned to the bridge. "Doran, ready a boarding party to search the Orion ship for survivors," he ordered, then strode from the bridge. "Have them meet me in Transporter Room 1 in five minutes!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Here come the Klingons! I admit to watching DS9 "Soldiers of the Empire," "Once More Unto the Breach," and "Sons and Daughters" a lot for inspiration for these and the other chapters set aboard the classic _B'rel_ -class. Klingons are a lot of fun for me to write and watch!

The _IKS Ki'tang_ is a bird-of-prey given passing mention at the beginning of DS9: "When it Rains...". It was the only allied ship to survive the Second Battle of Chin'toka in the Dominion War, due to the fact that an adjustment of the _Ki'tang_ 's tritium intermix just prior to the battle made it accidentally immune to the Breen energy-dampening weapon. The _Ki'tang_ was never mentioned again in canon, but my head-canon here is that the _Ki'tang_ survived the war and was later commanded by Morath, the chief engineer who made the original modification, whom Martok rewarded for his actions incidental as they were. By 2394, of course, Martok is dead and the politics of the Klingon Empire have shifted, leaving Morath in need of allies and in-laws to keep his command.

Jurlek and Doran are both characters from the game, appearing in the tutorial missions as the captain and first officer of the tutorial bird-of-prey respectively. Doran, daughter of W'mar is also a character who briefly appears in DS9: "Sons and Daughters" where she was one of the young reinforcements to join the crew of the _IKS Rotarran_. I decided to make them the same character. In the Star Trek Online game the House of Torg is a political adversary of the House of Martok and there's never a hint of a relationship between them and Jurlek. I decided to put one in place.

 _Gre'thor_ is the Klingon version of Hell. The _d'k tahg_ is the dagger most commonly seen being used with Klingons, with a large straight primary blade and two smaller secondary blades sticking out on either side.

While most Klingon ships don't have periscopes for their gunners, some do, as seen in _Star Trek: Generations_. While it is kind of silly, I admit to having an irrational fondness for the periscope, thus, it makes an appearance on the bridge of the _Ki'tang_.


	4. Last Stand

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect World. All are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

 _ **Last Stand**_

* * *

OSS Melani's Jewel _, Year of Kahless 1020, Day 112, 11:10 hours_

 _Nita D'blae's personal messages:_

 _Dear Momma,_

 _It was so scary when our ship got attacked! I was on the bridge and everything was shaking. A computer terminal exploded and killed one of the Orions, then these huge Nausicaans beamed in and started killing everybody! I tried to fight back, but it wasn't long till I was the only one left. The Nausicaans didn't think much of me, but I managed to grab a disruptor and figure out how to use it. I shot one of them, and then the Nausicaan captain, Majorog, he shouted for all the rest of the Nausicaans to kill me! Then everything seemed to happen at once…_

* * *

When the Nausicaan Captain Majorog shouted his order, three alien pirates charged at the little Orion girl in the center of the transport's bridge. Nita was able to get off one shot before they were on top of her. The green blast blew a smoking hole in the side of one of the Nausicaans. He staggered into the forward console, wounded.

Nita seized the opportunity and scrambled toward him in a running crouch. The blades of the other Nausicaans missed her by centimeters. The wounded one was too busy trying to keep himself upright to make an attack of his own. Nita dashed past him and ducked under an overturned chair.

Before she could turn and fire again, though, the Nausicaan named Majorog drew his own disruptor and fired at the chair. Nita's cover suddenly burst apart in smoke and flames. She cried out in terror and ran, seeking a console to hide behind.

She never made it to one. The third Nausicaan intercepted her, blocking her path with his muscular body. He swung his sword down at her. She deflected the blow with the only thing she had: her disruptor. The pistol was torn from her grip and clattered away. Then she was unarmed.

She knew she had to do something before the Nausicaan swung again. There was nowhere to run, no time to flee. She attacked in the only way she could, by latching onto the Nausicaan's leg and pounding on his armored knee with her fists.

The yellow-skinned brute grunted but did not go down, or even flinch. Instead he pulled back his leg and kicked Nita in the gut with enough force to send her tumbling backward more than a meter.

Nita found herself lying face down on the deck. She gasped for breath. The air had been knocked from her lungs and she couldn't seem to refill them. A terrible red hot pain burned in her abdomen. She feebly touched the source with her hand. She felt hot wetness. She looked down. Her hand dripped with a deep crimson liquid. The same color coated the blade on the top of the Nausicaan's boot. _My blood! I'm wounded_ , Nita realized, shocked. _Why is it red? Shouldn't it be green?_

She pushed the irrelevant thought aside and looked up at the Nausicaan pirates. Only two of them remained on their feet and they simply watched her. Snarling smiles spread between their tusks. _They think I'm already done for_ , she thought, then realized they were right. The second mugger her mother killed had been stabbed in the abdomen, like she was now. He had died, though it had taken him a while. _I will die too_ , she realized. She didn't feel fear at that. Death was still too abstract a thing, even for her. She did feel…disappointed. She hadn't wanted to die, but she was going to anyway, and these men were going to watch. That made her angry. _They think the fight's over_ , she thought, her breathing easing—almost normal except for the sharp pain of the wound in her belly, the queasy feeling of her blood running onto the deck. _I'm not dead yet_ , she told herself. _I may not be for a while. I can still fight. It's not over yet!_

Nita spotted her disruptor pistol a few meters away. She crawled toward it. The pain made moving hard and standing impossible, but she could still crawl and she could still aim. As long as that was true she could still kill, and somewhere in the desperate logic of her kill-or-be-killed mentality she still believed that if she could kill these men before she died she might not have to face death herself after all.

The Nausicaans simply watched her, grinning and chuckling. Majorog saw the disruptor she was going for and kicked it away contemptuously. It clattered against the far wall—too far away for her to reach in the time she had left.

Nita realized this, knew she'd never reach it, and finally despair overrode denial. She knew there was nothing she could do now but die slowly and painfully, like the mugger on Drozana Station. Tears came to her eyes then, as hot and burning as her wound.

Suddenly, Majorog's communicator buzzed. "Grumbak to Majorog!" it said. "Sir, we are under attack from Klingon patrol!"

"How many?" Majorog demanded.

"One bird-of-prey so far," came the answer.

"Then crush them!" said the Nausicaan captain, not taking his eyes off Nita. "I'm busy."

But the voice from the communicator was insistent. "Sir, we do not know if there are more bird-of-prey waiting, and this one take out our shields and impulse engines. We are easy prey for next attack, and if there are more—"

Majorog cut the voice off with a snarl. "Fine!" he said. "Beam back boarding parties and to go to warp!" A moment later, a swirl of amber energy enveloped him and the other surviving Nausicaans, and just like that, they were gone.

Nita was the only one left on the bridge then, alone with her pain, fear, and sorrow. She felt a crushing sense of smallness and weakness, facing her death alone. She cried out wordlessly, but there was no one left on the ship to hear her. She fell to her side then, limbs trembling. She curled instinctively, protectively, around her deadly wound, clutching a hand over the cut, but the blood still ran out between her fingers in surges timed with the erratic beating of her heart. She cried helpless tears and wished one last time for her mother.

Suddenly, the air hummed with transporter energy again. Nita remembered the Nausicaans. _They're back_ , she thought. She fumbled for a weapon. She knew she had no chance of even injuring one of them anymore, but she was determined not to let her killers see her like this. She picked up the dagger Rokek had intended to use on her and brandished it, turning to face the newcomer with a snarl.

Standing above her, a brown-skinned woman in dark red armor looked at her in surprise.

Nita gave her a surprised look of her own. _A Klingon_ , she thought, recognizing the cranial ridges. Surely she was not a pirate. Surely she would save a dying girl. Nita stretched out a bloody hand toward the woman, pleading. " _HIQaH!_ " she cried, voice trembling with desperation.

The woman's face softened and she knelt down beside Nita. She took the girl's small, pale-green hand in her own. Red blood, like that of the Klingon's own, ran into the woman's palm. Then the Klingon activated her wrist communicator. "L'Naam, _jol yIchu'_!" she ordered, and the bridge vanished in a cascade of red sparks.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** This picks up immediately after the end of chapter 2. While Nita does get in a couple lucky shots, let's be honest, she's 5, and outnumbered by big Nausicaan pirates. The outcome of this fight was never in question. As for her blood being red, I decided on the color as an acknowledgement of her half-human heritage. It also helps explain why the other girl would say she was even pinker when she blushed.

 _HIQaH_ means _help_ , and _jol yIchu'_ is the Klingon phrase that Kirk picked up in _Star Trek III: The Search for Spock_ , meaning _beam me up!_ The idea of Klingons having wrist communicators comes from the Star Trek Online game, where Starfleet characters tap their combadge on their chest as part of their beaming-up animation, whereas KDF players tap their wrists.


	5. A Promise

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect World. All are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

 ** _A Promise_**

* * *

 _Record of Battle,_ IKS Ki'tang _, Chief Science Officer Lieutenant Doran recording:  
_

 _Year of Kahless 1020, Day 114, 13:45 hours_

 _It has been two days since we responded to the distress call of the Orion transport_ OSS Melani's Jewel _, near the Federation border. We drove off their Nausicaan attackers in glorious battle, but while the cowards fled from us, the damage was done. Of the two hundred crew and passengers aboard the Orion transport, the unworthy dogs slew all but seven of them by the time we arrived. Most were women and children, and almost all were unarmed, unable to resist or meet their deaths with honor. Of the seven that survived long enough to be rescued, more than half of them died of their injuries in our medical bay. Thankfully, the girl I rescued, the one I found on the transport's bridge—with red blood in her veins and a warrior's spirit in her eyes—was not among them. She alone has shown the strength to recover consciousness since the attack._

* * *

"You're here for the girl, of course," said Paq, the ship's surgeon, rising to meet Lieutenant Doran as she entered the _Ki'tang_ 's medical bay, two days after the Nausicaan attack on the _OSS Melani's Jewel_. "She's lucky I had a pint of human blood in stasis from the Dominion War, and that it hadn't gone bad."

"Human blood?" Doran repeated. "But she is Orion!"

"She's half human: a hybrid," said the white-haired surgeon. "Hardly surprising when you consider the reputations of Orion women." He said dryly.

Doran gritted her teeth and stepped away from him. "Whatever else she is, the girl is a warrior," she insisted. "She has a scar to prove it!"

"That she does, and she may bear it for the rest of her life," said Paq. "I imagine it'll ruin her career as a dancing girl, but at least she'll live long enough to have one. That's better than what most of them got," he remarked, before turning to resume the task of packing the bodies of the less fortunate Orions up in the morgue for the trip to Ter'jas Mor.

Doran looked on for a moment, then pushed past him deeper into the medical bay. "Where is she?"

"In the back," said Paq. "She keeps to herself, as well she might—so far she's the only one who's regained consciousness. I gave her a copy of the _qeS'a'_ to keep her occupied."

Doran gave him a questioning look. The _qeS'a'_ was a collection of proverbs and stories central to Klingon culture. Doran had heard a human once call it The Klingon Art of War, and she thought the comparison to the human warrior-poet Sun Tzu appropriate. It was not overly complex, but at the same time it was hardly light reading.

The old man simply shrugged. "She requested it specifically," he said.

Doran made a mental note not to underestimate the girl's intellect. She moved deeper into the medical bay, to where the three Orion survivors waited on recovery beds. Two of them—a male crewman in engineering coveralls and a scantily-clad civilian woman they'd found unconscious in a maintenance crawlway—lay sedated on recovery beds, their pheromones mercifully masked by injections of a chemical suppressant. The monitoring equipment at their bedsides showed they were stable for now, but would need further medical care once the _Ki'tang_ dropped them off on the new Orion homeworld. The third survivor—a lithe little girl with light green skin and shoulder-length hair the color of burnished copper—sat on the corner of her bed, legs curled beneath her. She wore a loose white tunic over her torso and held a Klingon PADD in her hands, silently mouthing the words as she read.

Doran cleared her throat and the little girl looked up at her visitor. Her bright blue eyes did not hold the fire of battle as they had when Doran first saw her, but neither did they hold fear: only recognition. The Klingon was pleased. "I am Doran, daughter of W'mar, _G_ _in'tak_ to the House of Morath," she told the girl.

The girl lowered the PADD. Her brow furrowed in thought for a moment before she answered proudly, "I am Nita, daughter of a starship captain!"

Doran smiled at that. "Well met, young warrior." Then her expression grew serious. "Was your father the captain of the transport you were on?"

Nita shook her head. "My father was…human," she confessed, lowering her eyes.

"Do not be ashamed of your heritage," Doran admonished. "I served with several humans and one Klingon of human blood during the Dominon War. They may seem soft to some Klingons, but their blood is as red as ours and they are honorable warriors. If your father was a captain of one of their vessels, he was a great man."

Nita raised her eyes and smiled at that, nodding to Doran's words.

Satisfied, Doran returned to her original line of inquiry. "Was your mother aboard the transport?"

Nita shook her head. "The only person I know from the transport is Rema," she said, pointing to the woman on the next bed over. "She's my teacher. Paq says she's going to be alright, which is good, but I don't like her very much."

Doran raised her eyebrows. Truly there was no better mouth than a child's for _frank_ answers. "Have you any living family?" she asked.

"My mom's on Drozana Station," said Nita. "Her name is Atria D'blae." She paused. "I…I really miss her."

"I will do everything in my power to see that you are reunited with her, on my honor as a warrior," said Doran. She nodded at the girl to confirm her words, then turned to go.

But Nita jumped down and tugged at her sleeve. "Doran?"

"Yes?" she asked, turning back.

The girl held up the PADD so Doran could read it. Her small green finger indicated a word. "What's _klin zha_?"

"It is a game of strategy," she said, "played with small stones on a triangular board."

"Could you teach me to play it? Please?" Nita looked up at her plaintively, blue eyes wide like those of a young begging targ.

Doran could not help but smile at the sight, and chuckle. "I will find your mother, Nita," she promised, "and I will teach you to play _klin zha_."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** The _qeS'a'_ is based on the book _The Klingon Art of War_ by Kieth R.A. DeCandido, which appears to be the origin of the concept. It is basically a book of Klingon warrior philosophy, written as if it were a "modern" (that is TNG era) Klingon's interpretation of a century's old collection of ten sayings (the 10 Precepts) and their historical explanations. It reads as very authentically Klingon and I highly recommend it! Sun Tzu, of course, is the actual author of the famous Chinese classic _The Art of War_. Klingons would heartily approve of the title, but of course with Sun Tzu's emphasis on defeating your enemy before you even reach the battlefield the contents may not be exactly what Klingon warriors have in mind. Nita, of course, would be interested in the _qeS'a'_ mostly for knowledge of Klingon culture, which she was already fascinated with before her rescue.

The idea of a chemical or medicinal suppressant to Orion pheromones is one I think fairly realistic. I've established in previous stories ( _Airborn_ and _Survivors of Yamatai_ ) that the Federation in this period had medications capable of counteracting the effects of Orion pheromones in others, which given the advanced state of Federation medicine and the rising need to deal with enemy Orion combatants and prisoners, makes sense. That the Orions and Klingons would have their own medication for temporarily suppressing Orion pheromone output as a means of avoiding disruption to other species (especially Klingons, who are said to be strongly affected by Orion pheromones, especially young Klingon males).

A _Gin'tak_ is a trusted advisor who's granted a position of authority within a Klingon House, to the point where he or she can question the fitness of the head of the House and even override their decisions. In exchange for this position of power, a _Gin'tak_ is expected to put the good of the House they serve above every other consideration, even that of their own personal honor. K'mtar posed as _Gin'tak_ to the House of Mogh in TNG: "Firstborn" and in _Star Trek Online_ , Worf serves as _Gin'tak_ to the House of Martok.

The Klingon of human blood Doran mentions serving with is Alexander Rozhenko, who's mother was half human. They served together on the _IKS Rotarran_ in the DS9 episode "Sons and Daughters." Though there's no on-screen evidence of Doran serving with full-blooded humans during the Dominion War, it's very likely she did given how prominent a role the ship played in the war and how closely the Klingons and humans worked together.

 _Klin zha_ is a Klingon board game originally appearing in Star Trek novels, but now available as a full-fledged fan-made chess variant. It's played on a triangular board where two players' pieces compete over a neutral piece called the Goal.

Atria D'blae is confirmed as Nita's mother! I confess I really loved writing Atria's character in _Survivors of Yamatai_ , and when the story was over I wanted an excuse to bring Atria back. About the same time, I was sorting out Nita's backstory, and put two and two together. Atria will be returning, but not in this story, since this is the story of Nita being the Orion orphan who was raised by Klingons. That woudn't very well happen if her mother was still around.


	6. Hiding in the Ready Room

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect World. All are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

 _ **Hiding in the Ready Room**_

* * *

IKS Ki'tang _, Year of Kahless 1020, Day 123, 09:18 hours_

 _Nita D'blae's personal messages:_

 _Dear Momma,_

 _You've probably heard about what happened to the transport I was on, how it was attacked by big Nausicaan pirates who killed most of the people on board. Well, I got hurt by one of them, but I'm alright now. The Klingons on the bird-of-prey_ Ki'tang _came and rescued me…and they also rescued Rema and a member of the crew too, but they're still too hurt to wake up. Doctor Paq says they'll get better treatment once we get to Tar'jas Mor. We'll be there in ten days, and I'll make sure this message gets to you somehow then. In the meantime, the Klingon who saved me, Doran daughter of W'mar, is trying to find a way to contact you and let you know I'm alright._

 _I hope you're not worried sick, like you were the time I got stuck in the turboshaft for a few hours and was late to dinner. The Klingons are really nice, in their own tough-and-rough sort of way. Ch'gren is teaching me how to use a_ d'k tagh _and Paq is letting me read a copy of the_ qeS'a' _. Doran has even been teaching me this interesting two-dimensional game called_ klin zha _._

 _I miss you. I wish I was heading back to Drozana instead of going further away, to a planet I've only ever seen before in orbital holos. I wish I was with you, but I know you'll come and get me as soon as you get this message. Please hurry. Once the Klingons drop me off, I'll be alone…and I don't want to be alone right now…_

* * *

Doran was true to her word, of course. Over the next few days, she taught Nita to play _klin zha_. She even let her win once. Nita was pretty sure that's what had happened anyway.

The moves of the pieces weren't that difficult to remember, but what was hard to adjust to was the fact that only one pair of the pieces, the _puvwI'pu'_ , could go over other pieces. All the others could only move in two dimensions, and even the _puvwI'pu'_ could apparently only make brief hops, rendering them mostly two-dimensional as well. Two-dimensional thought was a somewhat difficult concept for Nita. On a space station like Drozana, everything was three-dimensional, even personal movement with decks above and below—not to mention maintenance crawlways. Nita was so used to being able to simply go above or below any kind of barrier that the idea that her pieces could not struck her as very strange.

Doran had tried to explain it in terms of ground warfare on a planet's surface. "The _puvwI'pu'_ symbolize scouts equipped with anti-graviton harnesses: they can travel over obstacles and move faster than your other troops, but they're not as heavily armed or armored, so they can't make up the bulk of your forces. Also, they have to stay light, so they can't carry the _ngoQ_ —the capture of which is the whole objective of _klin zha_."

"But they could tag it for transport," Nita suggested. "Then their ship in orbit could just beam it up!"

"No, they could not," Doran insisted.

"Why?" Nita asked the question for the hundredth time (though to her it was fresh, as the answer was always different).

Doran gritted her teeth in irritation, however. "Because, both sides are using transport inhibitors!"

Under the circumstances, Nita decided not to press the issue. As it was, the game provided an interesting challenge, and she had won the last round—even if she thought Doran had just let her. She looked forward to an honest rematch with the Klingon warrior.

There was still no word from her mother, but Doran said she was working on it. Nita trusted her. In the meantime, her days were full of activity.

Paq provided her with access to a library of reading materials on Klingon culture. _QeS'a'_ was still her favorite. Even though the concepts were advanced, the language was pretty simple, and overall it made a lot of sense to Nita. She understood it a lot better than any of the poems, anyway.

But she couldn't be satisfied by reading for long, not when there was a ship to explore. She begged and pleaded for Paq to let her out of the medical bay, and like most adults, he proved susceptible to the pressure. After three days of being cooped up in the medical bay, he finally relented to let her out on the condition that she stay on Deck 5 and keep out of everyone's way.

Fortunately for her, everything of major interest on the bird-of-prey was located on Deck 5. There was the training hall across the way from the medical bay. There Nita watched the Klingon warriors spar. She'd even managed to talk one named Ch'gran into teaching her a few knife tricks with his _d'k tagh_. Across from it, just to one side of the medical bay, was the mess hall. There Nita had gotten her first taste of real _gagh_. She had to admit, it was more fun to watch than eat, and she'd spit out her first mouthful because of the bitter taste. But after the way the warriors had all laughed at her for that, she didn't do it again. _Bithool_ _gagh_ was alright, though. It wasn't as sour and she liked that it was crunchy.

Today was her first time trying it, and to reward herself for finishing a whole plate without making a face, she decided to go exploring. She knew from listening to the crew that the bridge and an entrance to main engineering were on this deck somewhere. She had a pretty good idea where main engineering was already, so she decided to see if she could find the bridge.

She left the mess hall and peeked out into the corridor that ran the length of the deck. She was pretty sure engineering was to the right, so that left the other direction for her to explore. Of course, she knew without being told that the bridge was probably one of those places that constituted _getting in the way_ , and that she'd probably be stopped if any of the Klingons suspected she was trying to go someplace where a little Orion girl was not welcome. _That just means I have to be sneaky_ , she thought.

Nita walked casually to an intersection just before the long stretch of corridor that she thought led to the bridge. She pretended to turn off to one side there, but instead hid behind the lip of one of the enormous blast doors until the coast was clear. Then she scampered down the length of the hall. Her bare feet hardly made any sound on the deck plates compared to the clomping of the adult Klingons' big boots, so she knew when a trio of them were about to enter the corridor behind her. She dashed into one of the rooms at the end of the hall and closed the door behind her, waiting for them to pass.

She found herself in a small room dominated by a thick duranium desk console. Behind it was a large chair, and on the wall behind that hung swords and technical diagrams. On this side there were several boxes and storage containers stacked up. Nita hid behind one of these stacks and waited for the Klingons outside to pass.

Instead, the door of the room snapped open and the Klingons entered. The first was a broad-shouldered man with shaggy black dreadlocks. Nita had seen him before once in the mess hall. The other Klingons called him Captain Morath. Then came a dark-haired woman, Doran, followed by a gray-haired, wirey man Nita didn't recognize. Morath took a seat behind the desk while the other two stood in front of it, their backs to Nita. None of them seemed to realize she was there.

"So, you contacted the Orion Syndicate," said the oldest Klingon. "I hope they were pleased enough with our rescue to make up for the prize we lost that day."

"We will be compensated for our time, fuel, and equipment used rescuing the Orions and delivering them to Ter'jas Mor," said Doran. "We have also won the gratitude of our allies to strengthen our bond in the coming battles."

"Gratitude! Bah!" The old Klingon waved his hand dismissively.

"Enough, Jurlek!" said Morath. "Have we received any further instructions?"

Doran nodded. "The injured Orions are to be transferred to a medical ship on route to Ter'jas Mor from the Sappora System."

"And the girl?" asked Morath.

Doran paused. "I did not mention the girl," she said.

"What? Why not?" demanded Jurlek.

"I have been unable to contact her family," said Doran. "I demanded that the _petaQ_ of a Ferengi who operates Drozana Station let me speak with her. He said he sold Atria D'blae to a contact in the Orion Syndicate the very day after her daughter boarded the transport to Ter'jas Mor!"

Nita gasped. Morath glanced in her direction at the sound, but he said nothing and after a moment he returned his attention to the others. Nita drew back into the shadows so he wouldn't see her if he looked again. Meanwhile her mind reeled. She knew that her mother was officially a slave who might be sold to a new master any time, but the reality that it had happened, and at such a crucial time, was upsetting. She thought of the greedy Ferengi Belan selling her away to some far off place, and her little hands bunched into fists. Even worse was the idea that somehow her mother had let him.

Morath seemed to share her thoughts. "Slavery is one thing, but to separate a mother and child… Barbaric!" he declared.

"It's none of our concern," said Jurlek. "Were you able to contact the buyer?"

Doran shook her head. "The Ferengi only knew that the contact was an Orion working with the Syndicate. He didn't ask for any other details, and their only contact was through an encrypted channel with heavy filtering. After a few threats, he gave me the channel details the Orion used to contact him, but they're a dead end. No one answers the channel, and the relay station his signal came from is so isolated anyone could have used it."

"Surely the Orion Syndicate knows where she is," said Morath.

Doran huffed. "If they do, they won't say. They told me they don't track sales of slaves, and they won't disclose the activities or identities of their agents for any reason."

"So much for the alliance," said Jurlek. "With the mother gone, what are we supposed to do with the whelp?"

"According to the Syndicate, the children were all Rema's property," said Doran.

"Her _property_?" Morath repeated.

Doran nodded. "According to them, Rema purchased all of them in order to train them and sell them as sex slaves."

"Despicable!" Morath declared. "I've always heard Orion culture was barbaric, but this is a new low."

Nita had only a passing familiarity with Orion culture—being raised around the mix of species that came and went on Drozana meant she had a passing familiarity with a lot of cultures—but at the moment, she felt like agreeing with the Klingon. She didn't like Rema, and she certainly didn't want to be owned by her. She wanted to go back to her mother, and if the Orions were preventing that and saying she was going to share her mother's fate of being bought and sold without warning, then she hated them, too.

"It is none of our concern," Jurlek said again. "If the child is hers, let her have it."

" _It_ is an intelligent young girl with the heart of a warrior!" Doran challenged. "They have no right to make her a slave."

"They have every right!" Jurlek countered. "She is one of their own. It is dishonorable to take her from them."

"You have not seen her or talked to her," said Doran. "The girl has a keen mind and a bold spirit. She has already read the entire _qeS'a'_ and even memorized the Ten Precepts, and that in the eleven days since she came aboard this ship! I taught her to play _klin zha_ just six days ago, and yesterday she bested me in a game."

"You, bested by a little girl?" Jurlek scoffed.

"I underestimated her and let her have an advantage in an early move, a mistake I will not make again," said Doran. "But it is the same mistake you make, and the one the Orions make as well. They underestimate her! If we give her back to them, they will use her for her body, crush her spirit, and _waste_ her mind!"

"She is one of their own," said Jurlek. "It is for them to decide and it is dishonorable for us—"

But Doran cut him off. "What is dishonorable is for us to do nothing! One does not stand by and let a fool use a _bat'leth_ like a club. No matter who they are or who made or owns the _bat'leth_ , a great weapon must be shown great respect. Nita could be a mighty warrior: how much greater would be the dishonor of letting them use her as a slave?"

"And what would you have us do instead?" asked Jurlek. "Would you raise her as your own, since you are so keen on her?"

"If necessary, yes," said Doran. Nita's heart swelled at those words. She was not wholly abandoned. Her rescuer would still be there for her.

"You are a fool," Jurlek said.

"Enough!" said Morath. "I will decide the girl's fate myself. You are dismissed."

The other two Klingons turned and exited the room. When the door snapped shut behind them, Morath turned to the corner where Nita was hiding. "You can come out now, Nita," he said.

Nita crawled out of her hiding place and stood up. A tear ran down her cheek but she wiped it away without even being really aware of it. "You knew I was here?"

Morath nodded. "You are not as stealthy as you'd like to think. I saw you enter while the others were busy arguing. They did not see you."

"I suppose you're going to punish me for _getting in the way_ ," she said. She was not afraid. She was too angry, too full of turbulent emotions at the exchange she'd just overheard, to be afraid of this Klingon captain.

"I will not punish you," Morath said, rising. He began to pace. "You heard what was said. Do you understand it?"

Nita nodded. "Mother's gone, and the Orions want to give me to Rema to make me a sex slave." She had only a vague idea what _sex_ was, but after having her mother taken away from her, the implications of the _slave_ part seemed pretty clear.

"And do you want that?" asked Morath.

Nita shook her head.

Morath regarded her for a moment. "What do you want? This is a working ship, and I lead a minor House. There is little I can offer you. We could take you back to Drozana Station—"

"I want to stay here with Doran!" Nita blurted. "I want to be a starship captain, like my father!"

Morath stopped and looked at her. "Bold words," he said after a long moment. "They speak of a bold heart." He returned to his desk console and punched in a brief command. "Very well. You will stay with us and you will be Lieutenant Doran's responsibility. I will arrange a place for you and her when we reach Qo'noS. Obey her and learn everything you can—both from her and from other members of the crew—, and you will prove an asset to this ship and to the Empire. Then we will see if Doran's high estimation of you is truly justified…and if this decision of mine is a wise one or the sentiment of a fool."

Nita felt a smile spreading across her face, but before she could say anything the captain waved her away.

"Dismissed!" he said. "Doran will be looking for you in the medical bay. Do not keep her waiting!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** So this whole chapter here turns on a critical misunderstanding. I've made it clear from my treatment of Atria in _Survivors of Yamatai_ and the Star Trek canon made clear in ENT: "Bound" that "Orion slave-girls" are anything but, that they are, for all practical purposes, the ones in control of their "owners." However it's also clear from the rest of Star Trek lore that the Orions themselves go to a lot of effort to perpetuate the myth that the women are mere slaves trafficked for their bodies, and that while the crew of the NX-01 did find out the truth, it's unlikely they passed it on (they didn't pass on much else, given the number of aliens they encountered that wouldn't be officially discovered till centuries later). In Star Trek Online's lore, Klingons and Orions had only been allies for a year, maybe less at the point in time where this part of the story takes place. It's not likely that the true nature of Orion society would be widely known to them. If it was, they probably would have been more hesitant to accept the 1,500 Orion women as a "gift to the Great Houses" that STO lore mentions being sent from Melani D'ian in 2394. They probably would have understood those women as not "a gift of slaves" as advertised but an integration of Syndicate agents into the top levels of their society and government. Coming from and representing a minor House, Morath and Doran would know nothing about Orion slave girls beyond their (deceptive) public reputation. Jurlek, who has ties to a Great House, but lives in virtual exile with his in-laws, would also be ignorant of their true nature. Nita, of course, would not know the inner workings of Orion culture either, because she's only five and has mostly grown up around other cultures on Drozana Station. Thus everyone in this story would think that Atria was being callously sold away as a sex slave and they would think Nita was bound for a similar fate when the reality was that Atria's "selling" was probably more like a reassignment, possibly even a promotion, and that Nita was going to be trained in the art of manipulating and controlling others as a Syndicate agent, just like her mother.

Ironically, with the best of intentions, the Klingons basically ruined Nita's life, if you think about it. Although, as it later turns out her pheromones aren't particularly strong due to her half-human physiology, so she probably would have struggled as an Orion agent too. Still, it's interesting to think how things might have turned out different and that will probably feature in a story in the future.

Anyway, I hope I've made their decision believable for all concerned, even if it is based on a misconception.

Some more elaboration on _klin zha_. There are 9 pieces on each side: 1 Fencer, 1 Lancer, 1 Swift, 2 Fliers, 3 Scouts, and 1 Blockader. The rules for these aren't elaborated much in the novels or on Memory Beta, but they have been created by fans. The Fliers, called _puvwI'pu'_ in Klingonese, are able to jump over opposing pieces, rendering them effectively three-dimensional in a limited sense. There is, of course, a 3D version of _klin zha_ , much like 3D chess, but Doran is apparently focusing on the classic 2D version for now. The Goal non-piece which is to be captured in the game is called _ngoQ_ in Klingonese. Sites like the official _klin zha_ fan page feature explanations of the pieces and their functions that don't differ much from the ones given by Doran, pitching everything in terms of a Star Trek ground battle.

According to DS9: "Prodigal Daughter" there are 51 varieties of _gahg_ , the traditional Klingon dish of live worms. _Bithool_ _gahg_ had feet and was mentioned as B'Elanna Torres' favorite according to the Star Trek Cookbook. I admit to making up the flavor and texture as I have no idea what they'd be.

The deck plans of the _Ki'tang_ are based on those found in the _Klingon Bird of Prey Hayes Manual_. Those plans put most of the ship's areas, including the medical bay, the bridge, main engineering, and the ready room on deck 5.

The Sappora System was a star system outside of Federation space in 2375 that hosted an Orion Syndicate presence (DS9: "Prodigal Daughter"). Belan is a Ferengi NPC on Drozana Station in Star Trek Online. Qo'noS, of course, is the Klingon capital and homeworld.


	7. Qo'noS

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect World. All are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

 ** _Qo'noS_**

* * *

 _Nita d'Blae's personal messages, sent from IKS Ki'tang, Year of Kahless 1020, Day 134, 10:46 hours_

 _Dear Momma,_

 _I guess this is my last message to you, for a while at least. I don't know that you'll ever get to read them, though. Doran says you were sold to someone in the Orion Syndicate. She tried to find out who so she could talk to you and tell you about what happened to me, but she couldn't. I don't know if I'll ever see you again, and that makes me sad. I love you, Momma!_

 _But at least I'm not going to be a slave like you were. Nobody is going to sell me! Doran has agreed to take care of me and be my teacher. We dropped off the other Orions on a transport headed to Ter'jas Mor, and now I'm on my way to Qo'noS, the capital world of the Klingon Empire! I'm so excited to see it! I wish I could show it to you! I've been sneaking around the ship in the maintenance crawlways and found a spot with the perfect view. I'll be thinking of you as I look at my new home, but I'm also really excited. I know living with the Klingons will be tough, but I'm eager to try. I'm going to make a place for myself among them! I'm going to belong!_

 _And maybe someday, I'll see you again!_

* * *

Nita dragged the heavy metal chair away from the table in the _Ki'tang_ 's small conference room, positioning it below the forward window. She climbed up on it and leaned against the armored metal casement. The pale brown duranium frame rumbled faintly with the power of the bird-of-prey, and the feeling thrilled Nita as she peered out into the star-studded blackness of space. She heard heavy footfalls in the corridor and flinched. She turned to face the door, but it did not open. The sounds of heavy boots moved on and faded away. Nita relaxed. She knew Doran would be mad at her if she found her up here, a deck above the medical bay and mess hall. That hadn't stopped her today though. Today of all days she needed to find a room with a good view. Today was the day the _Ki'tang_ would arrive at Qo'nos. Today was Nita's first chance to see a planet up close!

Nita turned back to the window and gazed out it, standing on her tip-toes. She could see the sleek green bulge of the bird-of-prey's command section, with the protruding barrels of the disruptor cannons visible on either side of the window. She gasped as the bird-of-prey suddenly banked, swinging around to the left. The curve of a planet came into view, bright green against the blackness of space. Nita could see a belt of reddish-gray asteroids spread out in a ring around the planet. "Qo'nos," she whispered in awe, "and the Praxis Debris Belt!" She'd heard stories about this place, of course, but it was another thing entirely too see it in person. She hoped that when the Ki'tang finished settling into a parking orbit it would leave her with a view as stunning as this that she could enjoy for at least a little while.

But instead of settling into orbit, the bird-of-prey continued to approach the planet. Soon it's curve dominated the window, stretching as far as Nita could see, and growing closer by the second. Nita could already make out the shorelines where the brownish green land met the turquoise seas. Then the whole world tilted as the bird-of-prey rolled up on her port side, re-orienting so that the planet now spread out beneath them. Nita heard a faint hum and sensed movement out of the corner of her eyes. She glanced over to see that the heavy disruptor cannons were moving upward as the bird-of-prey's wings shifted to flight mode. _We're not just going to orbit Qo'nos_ , Nita realized with excitement, _we're going to land on it!_

The _Ki'tang_ rolled up on her port side, causing the blue-green planet curve of the planet to swing around till it was directly below the bird-of-prey. Nita watched as that curve got larger and larger, until it was all she could see and the blue-gray haze of the atmosphere began to blot out the blackness of space. Then tongues of flame began to appear around the leading edges of the ship's hull. The walls trembled slightly and a low rumble reverberated throughout the ship. Nita felt excited and frightened at the same time. The window began to heat up, feeling warm to the touch for just a moment.

Then the flames faded away, the window cooled, and the rumbling died down. Nita pushed herself up against the window and peered out. She couldn't even see any stars or the blackness of space anymore. All she saw was the pale blue-gray sky of Qo'nos above and around her, and below a fascinating landscape of green forests, brown planes, and stark white mountaintops. She could make out the shapes of rivers, snaking through the landscape below, carving through canyons as they went. As the bird-of-prey drew closer she could make out the angular shapes of Klingon buildings on the ground below, connected by long gray roads for ground vehicle traffic. It wasn't long before she began to see specks moving along those roads.

The _Ki'tang_ passed through an iron-gray cloud bank as they descended further. One the other side, Nita saw a desert stretching before her. The landscape was all reds and browns with sparse vegetation: trees that even a girl raised on a space station could tell were unhealthy. She could also see the gray ragged shapes of shattered, abandoned buildings and machinery. And yet off in the distance she could see several patches of greenery in the middle of the wasteland, places with grass and tall green trees surrounding brown buildings that looked well-maintained. Before Nita could look too closely at any of them, the _Ki'tang_ 's flight path took it behind a hill, then into a canyon. Nita gasped as the blood red rocks rose overhead, streaked through with gold striations. The bird-of-prey nimbly maneuvered through the canyon walls until they opened up, revealing a green area of trees and small fields, tucked away at the end of the canyon. There were a few buildings here, architecture showing the traditional Klingon style of houses like elaborate fortresses, but made in this case from metal painted in reds and golds, like the rock walls that surrounded this small oasis.

As the _Ki'tang_ approached closer, Nita saw an opening in the trees leading to a large patch of dirt with starship maintenance equipment scattered along its periphery. _A landing pad!_ By the time she realized it, the _Ki'tang_ was already setting down, descending almost vertically now, settling on the ground with a jolt that made Nita jump and almost fall off of the chair. She cried out in surprise, and was so caught up trying to regain her balance that she didn't hear the door to the conference room opening.

"There you are!" Doran's voice called from the doorway.

Nita jumped and actually fell out of the chair this time, tumbling to the deck. She scrambled back to her feet, but Doran was already standing over her. There was no use trying to hide or play innocent. She'd been caught in the act. "I'm sorry! But I had to see the planet! It was my only chance!" she tried to explain.

Doran shook her head. "If you wanted to see the planet, you should have told me. Do you not remember the lessons of the _qeS'a'_? Declare your intentions openly, as a warrior! Skulking through maintenance crawlways and hiding in empty rooms is beneath you."

Nita was a little surprised at this. Though she had heard Doran speaking openly and directly of her intention to teach her how to become a warrior in the Klingon tradition, this was the first time she'd really thought of that tradition as applying to herself. Though, she supposed it made sense. If she was to live among Klingons, as one of them, it only made sense to do things the Klingon way. She certainly didn't want to do things the Orion way—not after what had happened to her mother! She nodded and faced Doran directly. "I wish to see the planet!" she said.

"So you shall," said Doran, "but not from here. You will come with me. Morath is waiting for you outside."

Nita started following Doran out of the room, then paused, suddenly realizing the implications of what had been said. "Outside?" she repeated. "You mean…on the surface!"

Doran smiled and nodded.

Nita gave an excited squeal and hurried out of the room after her.

A few minutes later, Nita found herself at the top of the bird-of-prey's ramp, leading down to the dirt landing pad. The regulated atmosphere of the ship was suddenly overpowered by a hot blast of air from outside, from the planet's own atmosphere. Nita felt a thrill at the unfamiliar smells carried on the wind: grass and trees, but also dust and ozone from the recent landing. She stepped slowly, reverently down the ramp. At the bottom she hesitated, stepping out carefully and placing her bare foot on the red gravel. The gravel was rough, poking at her soles, but years of running barefoot on stations and ships had toughened her feet enough to tolerate it. And she was determined to tolerate it. _This may be my only chance to walk on a planet! There's no way I'm going to pass it up because the rocks poke my feet!_ She stepped carefully out into the sunlight, and came into view of Morath, who was surrounded by a cluster of Klingons, including Doran, Jurlek, and also a raven-haired Klingon woman in a red and gold cloak.

Morath spotted Nita and called out, "There you are! I was beginning to think you wouldn't come!"

"It took me some time to find her," said Doran. "She was observing the landing from the tactical conference room."

"A room she has no business visiting," said Jurlek, frowning. "I told you, there is no place on a working warship like the _Ki'tang_ for a child like her!"

Morath waved him away. "She is here now, isn't she?" He turned back to Nita. "What do you think of Qo'nos, and my land?"

"Your land?" Nita asked, walking slowly closer to the group, hampered somewhat by the rough gravel.

"Yes, mine, and my family's," said Morath. "My father and my father's father were born and raised here in the DoqSuD Canyon, on the borders of the Ketha Lowlands. In years long past, the canyon's deposits of iron and gold and it's fortified location made our House powerful, but when more modern materials became available our fortunes changed. We also suffered greatly after the Praxis Disaster rained radioactive waste on our lands, but our fortunes have changed for the better once more since the Dominion War. Now, look at all we have! Ours may not be the largest House in the Klingon Empire, but we have our history, and we have enough to buy the _Ki'tang_ , and soon we shall afford larger and better ships with which to fight for honor and glory."

Nita looked around at the fields and trees overhead. "It's really impressive," she admitted. She hoped she got a chance to see more of it.

"I'm glad you approve," said Doran. "This will be your home as long as you are under my care."

The woman in the red cape bared her teeth in a snarl. "You do not have the authority to decide that, _gin'tak_!" she said to Doran. "I am the lady of this House! I decide who will stay and who will go."

"Lady B'kangder, it is my duty to see to the honor of your House—" Doran started.

B'kangder cut her off. "Do not lecture me about how to run my own House!" She turned to Morath, barely restrained fury evident on her face. "It would have been wise of you to consult me, husband, before you purchased a slave from those Orions. Perhaps I could have helped you choose one who was at least old enough to give you what you desire."

Morath stiffened, and for a moment it looked like he was going to strike B'kangder, but instead he said, "You dishonor me, woman! I am a faithful husband and would not buy a slave for such a dishonorable purpose!"

"And she is not a slave!" said Doran. "She is a survivor of an Orion transport we rescued in the Donatu Sector."

"Then what is she doing here? She should be with her people," said B'kangder.

"She has chosen to stay with us," said Doran. "Her people want nothing more to do with her than to turn her into a sex slave, but I will make her a warrior!"

B'kangder gave Nita an appraising look and frowned. "Her? A warrior? She is as soft as a newly-hatched _borghel_!"

"She has the fire of a warrior in her heart," Doran insisted. "I have seen it in her eyes, and I will draw it out of her."

"And you intend to do it here, with my son?" B'kangder challenged.

"She cannot stay aboard the _Ki'tang_ , my wife," said Morath.

"And she cannot stay here!" said B'kangder. "She will not remain so small forever, and neither will K'mar. When she had grown and he has as well, her pheromones will overpower his young mind. You know that young Klingon men have been known to die from the madness Orion women can induce!"

"Her pheromones will not be as strong, and can be easily suppressed. She is half-human, after all," said Paq, walking up to the group from the ship. "I've already started designing a device she can wear when she's older that will inject her with controlled dosages of chemical suppressant. We will need to monitor her condition carefully, of course, as there could be problems with suppressing her physiology long-term, but it should at least work long enough for her to be safe around K'mar."

B'kangder looked from Paq to Nita, then back to Morath. "You approve of this, husband?"

"I do," said Morath. "Nita shall be Doran's responsibility, and Paq will see to any problems her Orion pheromones may cause."

"I will raise her as a warrior," said Doran.

"You can try," said B'kangder. She squared her shoulders and turned to Nita. "Very well, Orion," she said. "You may stay. You may even train as a warrior and spar with my son in training matches, so long as Doran remains responsible for you. We shall see if she is able to make something of you."

Nita stood straight, determined to earn her place here on Qo'noS, in her new home.

* * *

 **Arthur's Note:** Just a brief transitional chapter to wrap up this part of Nita's story and prepare for the next part, where she actually gets a chance to prove her worth, Klingon style!

Qo'noS, or sometimes Kronos, is the homeworld of the Klingons. The Praxis Debris Belt, of course, refers to the Klingon moon Praxis which was destroyed in the catastrophic mining accident that set off the events of _Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country_ and paved the way for peace between the Klingons and the Federation. Praxis and an accompanying asteroid ring do appear as part of the backdrop for Star Trek Online's Qo'noS.

The fact that Klingon birds-of-prey can land was first established by _Star Trek IV: The Journey Home_ and Star Trek Online has used landed birds-of-prey in several missions.

The Ketha Lowlands is mentioned as a poorer part of Kronos and the origins of Martok in DS9. In _Star Trek: Into Darkness_ , the alternate universe Ketha Lowlands are a depopulated industrial wasteland. The idea that the Ketha Lowlands were hit hard by some debris in the Praxis Disaster is my invention, but I think it fits with what's been established about the region. As for the history of the House of Morath and DoqSuD Canyon, that's all my invention too. I wanted to give the House a backstory and a reason for using red and gold for uniforms and paintjobs (which I think looks pretty cool). While the place of iron in canon isn't well established, it's pretty well established that gold has been worthless since the 23rd Century (TOS: "Catspaw" and as everyone's favorite Ferengi demonstrated dramatically in DS9: "Who Mourns for Morn?"). Being able to afford a single bird-of-prey in the story here is by no means well-off or powerful. The House of Torg, in the game, fields dozens of ships against the player and their allies in their climactic battle in "Bringing Down the House," and still have ships left over to try to ambush the player with periodically in later episodes. Throw in the fact that the _Ki'tang_ is at least as old as the _Nautilus_ , and the boast is even more of a pipe dream.

According to the tradukka Klingon/English translator, a _borghel_ is a small bird.

The idea that young Klingons could die from Orion pheromones is from the TOS novel _The Final Reflection_.


	8. Dawn of a Warrior

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit. Stardates were calculated with the help of the TNG Stardate Calculator available on TrekGuide .com and may be slightly out of sync with those used in the game's lore.

* * *

 _ **Part II: Initiate**_

* * *

 _ **Dawn of a Warrior**_

* * *

 _Morath Estate, Qo'noS, Year of Kahless 1032, Day 317, 04:03 hours local time_

 _Nita of the House of Morath, personal log:_

 _"Today, I am a warrior! I must show you my heart. I travel the river of blood!"_

 _Those are the words I must speak in a few hours at the Second Rite of Ascension. Doran has trained me long and hard for this moment. She has been a mother and a mentor to me since the day I was rescued from that Orion freighter as a child. I have lived with her on Qo'noS the past thirteen years, growing up and training in the House of Morath, in his estate in the DoqSuD Canyon. This place, once foreign to me, has become familiar. Soon I'll leave it, and once more travel the stars! Once I've passed the Second Rite of Ascension, I'll be a warrior in the Klingon Empire and I'll serve on a starship, as my father did before me. I've already submitted my application to the Klingon Academy on Ogat, and passed their exams. Now, all that's left is the physical challenge of the Second Rite of Ascension…I'm going to need all my strength for this!_

* * *

Thirteen years later, a much older Nita awoke on her hard bunk in the servants' quarters of the Morath estate. It was early morning, the sun just barely beginning to brighten the eastern sky. Nita's mind was already wide awake, though, triggered by reflex and training. She'd heard a noise in her sleep, and it had awakened her. Her eyes snapped open and she reached under her pillow for her _mek'leth_. Her eyes scanned the room. There! In the shadows! She saw a flicker of movement, a humanoid form. She sprung from the bed, curved blade in hand. She rolled under her shadowy assailant's first swing and had her weapon pressed against their throat before they could make a second attack. She ripped the intruder's mask away and grinned as she recognized her attacker's face. "Doran, don't you think I'm a little old for this game?" she asked.

Doran tried to shove Nita off, but the lithe Orion woman pinned her gray dreadlocks to the wall with one hand and pressed her blade closer with the other. Doran stopped struggling, and allowed herself a slight smile. "Perhaps it is I who am too old for these games. I had not realized you'd taken to sleeping with your _mek'leth_ , or I would have made less noise in my entry."

"So you say," said Nita, not quite believing that Doran had been deliberately incautious to make her test easier. Her trainer had stopped pulling her punches about the same time Nita's breasts had stopped developing. Nita withdrew the curved blade, and stepped away, still grinning at her victory. "You taught me to always be vigilant, and the last time you won this game, you put a knife in my pillow just a few inches from my head. I've taken your lessons to heart!"

"So it would seem," said Doran. She pulled a Klingon data pad from her belt and held it out to Nita. "Your results from the Academy examinations," she said. "I wanted to be the first to congratulate you."

Nita took the pad and looked over the results. She frowned. While most of the marks were excellent, two were merely satisfactory, with one only barely above failing. "I barely passed the ground combat tactical planning exam," she remarked.

"True, but your marks for space combat were excellent. Your strategy would have resulted in a great victory, had the simulation been real," said Doran.

"I could have done better," said Nita.

"There are always improvements to be made," said Doran. "That is why you will go to the Academy on Ogat. That is why as a warrior you will continue to learn and adapt throughout your life."

Nita met Doran's eyes. "You really think they'll accept me?"

Doran tapped the pad. "With results like this, I do not doubt it! There can be no doubt that you will bring great honor to the Empire as a warrior, and as an officer, when your training on Ogat is complete."

"Even if I have green skin and red blood?"

"Even so," Doran confirmed. "You will not be the first or only alien training at Ogat. With the Dominion and Gorn Wars behind us, the Klingon Defense Force has learned that no one can win battles alone. We are stronger with our allies, even in our ranks!"

"So you say," said Nita, and she wanted to believe it. For years she had dreamed of being out there again, among the stars where she'd been born. She dreamed, as she had as a little girl, of being not just a warrior but a starship captain, like the man Atria had said was her father. She smiled, perhaps one day that dream would be a reality.

"So it will be!" said Doran, as if reading her thoughts. "There is but one thing remaining: you must complete the Second Rite of Ascension to claim your rightful place as a warrior in the full Klingon tradition, for only a warrior can be admitted to the Klingon Academy on Ogat."

Nita's shoulders tensed. She looked down, studying the _mek'leth_ in her hand. There had never been any question she would pass the mental challenges of the Academy examinations. After all, she'd always been very clever. But the Second Rite of Ascension was a physical challenge. Nita knew she was at a disadvantage there. No amount of cleverness would help her through the grueling painstik ritual, or the demonstration duel that led up to it.

"Morath and Paq are coming," Doran said, breaking the silence. "K'mar, of course, will be with them, for he is to undergo the Second Rite of Ascension as well. They arrive on the Ki'tang in an hour. You have that long to prepare." She cocked an eyebrow. "I suggest you start by putting on some clothes."

That brought a smirk to Nita's face as her trainer exited the room. Nita's long-standing habit of sleeping just a long white tunic had been a source of contention, starting going back to when Doran had tried to get her to wear proper Klingon attire after she'd completed the First Rite of Ascension. While she eagerly went along with this plan during the day, at night she'd sought the comfort of her familiar white tunic from the _Melani's Jewel_. As a stubborn child, Nita had insisted that if she couldn't wear that to bed, she wouldn't wear anything at all—anything, that is, except the combadge necklace her mother had given her and the pheromone masker Paq had fitted to her wrist. Doran had tried to make her sleep in armor several times, and had succeeded a few times after Nita outgrew her original white tunic, but in the end nighttime apparel was the one area where Doran had allowed Nita to win.

Nita changed out of her white tunic and got dressed quickly. Her outfit for today was a thick fur uniform shirt, pants, and boots, supplemented by heavy leather pads as armor. She put her red hair up in a short, tight bun that would keep it out of the way. She strapped on a belt with an empty sheath for a _d'k tag_ —the dagger of a warrior, which she would soon have the right to wear. She tucked her _mek'leth_ into the back of her belt, within easy reach, and checked her pheromone masker. It's supply of suppressant drugs was a little low, so she changed it out for a new vial from her footlocker. On today of all days, she had no desire for her medication to lapse!

Outside the sun was just barely peeking over the edges of the canyon walls as the 9-hour day-period of Qo'noS began. Nita greeted the new day with a jog down the canyon. She did not sprint, as she usually did, and while her armored attire was not light, it wasn't as heavy as the pack Doran had made her train with. Nita also wasn't running barefoot today, for though she could manage the weight of the pack and the callouses on her feet protected her from most of the sharp rocks, she could not risk tiring herself or injuring herself before the trials that were to come.

She stopped at the remains of the old watchtower at the canyon mouth—a remnant, Morath had said, of his House's former glory, dating back to the days long before the Praxis Disaster. Today, there was little left of the watchtower by now but a roughly square heap of stones—almost resembling a wall in some places. It made a good shelter at least. She picked her way over the rubble heap and found a spot in the shade between two walls where she could catch her breath. Then she turned her attention back to the pheromone masker on her wrist.

The masker had been specially designed by Paq to continuously deliver a dosage of pheromone suppressant, but it also contained a dose of a counter-agent designed to clear the suppressant from her system. Paq had told her to use it periodically to clear her system of the pheromone suppressant. He'd warned that if she didn't use it at least once a week she could suffer side effects from the suppressant. But she always found the act of clearing out the suppressant from her system... disconcerting. She felt so needy, so desperate and lonely when the Orion pheromones were allowed to run rampant through her veins. She had no desire to deal with those feelings today. Besides, she'd gone almost three weeks without doing it and hadn't felt any ill effects yet. But she didn't want old Paq to make a fuss about her not using it either, so she pulled out the vial of counter-agent and poured it out on the dusty ground before reinserting the empty vial. Paq would never know the difference.

She jogged back to the estate. She was just in time to see the _Ki'tang_ landing in a cloud of dust. By the time she made it to the landing pad, Morath was already descending the ramp. B'kangder and K'mar were there to greet him, as was Doran. Nita joined them.

Morath approached his son first, looking him over approvingly. "Are you ready to become a warrior, my son?" he asked.

"Yes, father!" said K'mar.

Morath nodded, giving the boy's arm a single heavy pat. "A warrior you shall be! And you shall make your father proud." He turned to Nita, looking her over and nodding his approval. "You also will become a warrior. You will bring honor to this house, and to yourself!"

"The honor of our house should not be tied to the honor of this green-skinned coward," K'mar said, glaring at Nita.

"Silence!" Doran said. "Nita has shown as much courage as you have in training. She has every right to bring honor to the house in which she grew up."

"Well said," Morath said. B'kangder remained silent. "Come!" Morath gestured up the ramp. I have something to show you all before we go to the First City for the Rite!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** So here's the big jump to the present. Hopefully I didn't lose anybody!

A _mek'leth_ is a Klingon short sword similar to the _bat'leth_ in its curved and geometry, but designed for one-handed use and thus much lighter and more practical. Worf used it frequently on screen in DS9 and used it for the EV suit fight with the Borg drones on the deflector dish of the _Enterprise_ _-E_ during _Star Trek: First Contact_.

The Klingon military academy on Ogat was mentioned in TNG "Firstborn." It's unclear what role they serve or if they're the same as the Klingon Academy featured in _Star Trek Online_ and other games, but I chose to make them the same for the purposes this story. Doran's remarks about the Klingons accepting aliens into their ranks reflects the shift in the Klingon military from the exclusively Klingon KDF of the Dominion War days to the much more multi-racial KDF portrayed in _Star Trek Online_.

The painstik (apparently it's proper spelling per Memory Alpha) is about what the name implies, a metal rod with some kind of technological torture device at the end that inflicts excruciating pain. It was first seen in a recreation of Worf's Second Rite of Ascension in TNG "Icarus Factor," which is the basis for my portrayal of Nita's Second Rite, and the source of the quote at the beginning of this chapter. The idea of a demonstration duel leading up to it is my own invention, based on the fact that the Second Rite of Ascension is elsewhere mentioned to test the combat prowess of a warrior as well as their stamina and endurance of pain, but the Rite depicted in "Icarus Factor" only tests the latter.


	9. Plans and Problems

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit. Stardates were calculated with the help of the TNG Stardate Calculator available on TrekGuide .com and may be slightly out of sync with those used in the game's lore.

* * *

 _ **Plans and Problems**_

* * *

IKS Ki'tang _, Year of Kahless 1032, Day 317, 05:17 hours_

 _Nita of the House of Morath's personal log:_

 _It is almost time for the Second Rite of Ascension! I will face a demonstration duel with_ bat'leths _to first blood, then I will face the painstiks. And besides all that I must face the jealous anger of K'mar, Morath's son. But if I am victorious, I will be a warrior! And then I will be able to return to the stars and maybe someday even command a starship like my father did!_

 _Morath is taking K'mar and I to First City aboard the_ Ki'tang _, the same bird-of-prey that rescued me all those years ago. It's good to be back in a familiar ship and back in space before I face the challenge of the Second Rite of Ascension!_

* * *

As Morath led the way through the _Ki'tang_ , Nita felt the old bird-of-prey come alive around her. She was amazed at how familiar it felt, even after all these years. The hum of the ship's engines was a comforting sound, reminding her of her childhood. The enclosure of the ship's tight, functional corridors felt like home. Though it had been years since she'd explored them, she still remembered the layout of the ship's maintenance crawlways, and how she had used the to explore the ship without Paq or Doran knowing about it. She smiled wistfully at the memory.

But today, she was led to the bridge openly. By the time they reached the bridge, the _Ki'tang_ was already in low orbit. On the small viewscreen Nita could see the eternal night of space hanging over the green orb of Qo'noS. Morath took the center seat with an eager gleam in his eyes. "Helm, bring us about to bearing 294 and prepare for a flyby."

"Aye, sir!" said the Kodrak, entering the new course.

The vista on the viewscreen swung around to the left, till it centered on the image of a small Klingon cruiser. It's gray-green armored hull grew larger as they approached it. Nita took in the tear-shaped command section, the sturdy delta-shaped swept-back wings, and the thick nacelles they connected to. She recognized the ship's profile from her preparations for the entrance exam. "A _K't'inga_ -class refit!"

"Yes, the _IKS Raqtal_ ," said Morath. "Over one-sixth of a _kellicam_ in length with a crew of two hundred warriors, she's armed with five quantum torpedo tubes and twelve disruptor arrays and fitted with ablative armor hull plating. She's a work of art: a modern warship built on the bones of an old one. Buying the old hull and commissioning the refit cost me a fortune, but it was worth every _DarSeq_!"

"A great ship for a House such as ours," B'kangder grinned and kissed her husband. "The _Raqtal_ will bring us great honor!"

Jurlek huffed. "It is a trifle next to the resources of a Great House. The House of Torg has dozens of larger heavy cruisers, and even battleships!"

"Even the House of Torg did not start out with such a mighty fleet," Morath said. "This is just the beginning. If all goes well the glory and rewards we win with this ship will allow our House to commission more ships." He turned to Nita and K'mar. "By the time the two of you finish your training at Ogat, there'll be a bird-of-prey for each of you to command!"

"Nita will command a bird-of-prey for our House?" asked K'mar, seemingly put off by the idea.

"Why shouldn't I?" Nita challenged. "I was raised here, and I am as much a warrior as you are."

"That remains to be seen," said B'kangder.

"It also remains to be seen whether or not the war will allow the House of Morath to commission new ships at all," said Doran. "If the Empire loses another of its shipyards, the wealth of a minor House such as ours will not suffice to purchase any more ships."

"That's almost a certainty at this point," Jurlek remarked. "The House of Martok has been tasked with leading the defense of Ganalda IV, and they have no spine to fight the Federation."

"We will help them find their will to fight," said Morath. "Martok honored me greatly after the Second Battle of Chin'toka, and I will honor his memory by volunteering the ships of my House to fight beside the ships of his House at Ganalda IV."

Jurlek's eyes widened and he stepped close to the central seat. "This is madness!" he said. "The Klingon fleet at Ganalda IV cannot hold!" He gestured to the _Raqtal_ on the viewscreen and the _Ki'tang_ beneath him. "Your proud new ship and this old relic will both be destroyed!"

B'kangder growled, glaring at Jurlek. "You may be my older brother by blood, but you will not speak to my husband that way!" she warned.

"You may be the wife of Morath, but I am of the House of Torg, which you seem to have forgotten," Jurlek replied. "I will speak my mind!"

"Enough! Both of you!" said Morath. He got to his feet and thrust them both apart with a hand on their shoulders. "This is a day of celebration, for the new warriors who join our House today, not for squabbling like a pack of _bok_ -rats." He turned to Nita and K'mar. "You two, prepare yourselves! Helm, take us into standard orbit over First City."

Nita reluctantly turned away from the viewscreen and started down the corridor toward the rest of the ship. K'mar walked beside her in silence for several paces, until they were well out of earshot of the bridge and the door had sealed behind them. Then he said, "There will be a duel in the first part of the Rite."

Nita nodded. It was something they both knew. "A duel to first blood," she said. "Only the victor can proceed to the second half of the Rite, unless the judges deem otherwise. As I understand it, the duel will be open, and any initiate can be chosen as an opponent. We should choose other initiates to face, perhaps some from the House of J'mpok or their allies, to maximize our chances of making it to the second half of the Rite."

K'mar growled. "You will not make it to the second half of the Rite. I will see to that! I have lived enough of my life in your shadow!"

"You only lived in my shadow because you were too short to cast your own," Nita said and glared at him. "You still are, _petaQ_ , if you would throw away a chance to bring glory to your House over a sibling rivalry!"

"You are not my sibling!" K'mar bunched his fists and started to reach for the _bat'leth_ across his back. Nita realized she may have finally pushed the young Klingon too far this time and reached for the _mek'leth_ in the back of her belt.

But then an old Klingon stepped between them. "Save it for the dueling chamber, _petaQ_!" Paq said, thrusting them apart. He grabbed Nita's arm. "You, come with me. I need to check you over before you beam down for the Rite."

Nita released her weapon and allowed herself to be led away. She had no wish to hurt K'mar, though she would not object to teaching him a painful lesson. The boy had always been unbearably proud. It didn't help that over the last two years he'd grown larger and stronger than Nita, making her struggle to keep up with him during the sparring sessions Doran and B'kangder insisted they do together. Beating him in a duel to first blood would not be easy. But if she failed, she might never get the chance to serve on or command a starship in the Klingon Defense Force, or anywhere else for that matter. But if she succeeded, how would Morath and B'kangder react to her ruining the chances of their only son becoming a warrior? I might not have a choice, she reflected grimly. The traditions of the duel stated that it was to first blood, but nothing prohibited that first connecting blow from being fatal. And K'mar is a skilled duelist who won't hesitate to go for the kill!

Paq stopped and turned to her, and Nita was surprised to find they'd already reached the medical bay. She'd been too distracted with her thoughts to be paying attention to where they were going. Paq pointed to one of the surgical cots. "Sit down," he said.

Nita straightened instead. "I don't need a medical exam," she insisted. What she needed was time to think of a plan to deal with K'mar.

"No, you don't need a medical exam," Paq said, running a handheld scanner over her anyway. "What you need is a psychological exam!"

"For fighting with K'mar?"

"For wanting to undertake the Second Rite of Ascension," said Paq. He set the scanner down and looked her in the eye. "The First Rite of Ascension when you were a little girl was one thing. All that requires is lighting a candle and saying a few words. An Elaysian could do it! The Second Rite is another matter altogether, starting with the _bat'leth_ duel. A traditional _bat'leth_ weighs 5.3 kilos. Even for a seasoned Klingon warrior that is a lot of weight to swing around in the heat of battle! I cannot tell you how many torn muscles I have treated in my days as a ship's surgeon. For you it's entirely too much weight. That's why Doran has been focusing your training on the _mek'leth_ to this point. But you cannot use a _mek'leth_ to fight the ritual duel, and without the _mek'leth_ , you cannot hope to win!"

"I will win," Nita insisted. "I must!"

"That is not the point," said Paq. "Even if you win, you are not a Klingon."

"I will be as much a Klingon warrior as anyone on this ship!"

"You do not have a Klingon body!" Paq said, pounding his fist the surgical cot.

The sudden outburst from the old doctor startled Nita into silence.

"You do not have a Klingon body," he said again. "You cannot be a Klingon warrior without one. Other races have great warriors, to be sure. The humans have been fighting our people with bravery and honor since long before even I was born. The Orions were building an empire before the Klingons even knew how to build spaceships. But the Second Rite of Ascension is a rite designed specifically for Klingons, with Klingon physiology in mind! Humans do not have an interlacing ribcage like built like chainmail to protect the vital organs in a duel to first blood. Orions do not have an adrenal gland that also secretes a natural painkiller. And neither have redundant vital organs! The Second Rite is designed by and for Klingons who have all these things! Without them, the Second Rite of Ascension is more likely to kill you than to make you a warrior. If you'll take my advice as a ship's surgeon, you'll forget all about the Second Rite and find another way to be a warrior, one that keeps the limitations of your body in mind."

Nita set her jaw and stood up. "There is no other way," she said, firmly. "I cannot take your advice."

"No, it would seem you cannot, not even when it comes to simple things like taking your medicine," Paq held up his scanner, showing her the results. "You did not think you could fool me simply by emptying the vial in your masker, did you? My scans show that the suppressant has built up in your bloodstream to almost toxic levels! You need to use the counter-agent, and for an extended period, too. Three days, minimum."

"I don't have three days, not now," she said. "I must undergo the Second Rite of Ascension today!"

Paq sighed. "I'm told in the Federation they have a tradition that even a Starfleet captain can be outranked by a ship's surgeon on medical matters. A pity there is no such tradition in the Empire," he grumbled, then waved his hand dismissively at Nita. "If you're not going to follow my advice, get out of my medical bay!"

Nita stood and walked out without a backward glance.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I hope that no one was too surprised that Paq wasn't fooled by Nita's attempt to dispose of the counter-agent. He wouldn't be a very competent doctor if he'd fallen for that. His argument here serves to highlight the brutal nature of the Second Rite of Ascension. In the "Icarus Factor" a holodeck recreation of the Second Rite left an adult Worf panting on the floor, and Nita is nowhere near as tough. What Paq says about Klingon biology is based on various sources. The fact that Klingons have redundant organs is well established from TNG "Ethics" and VOY "Lineage." The idea of interlacing ribs comes from the anatomical cross section illustration that can be seen on the Memory Alpha page for Klingons, though I don't know the source of this drawing. The idea of an adrenal gland that secretes a natural painkiller is something I was convinced was mentioned in some episode of Star Trek, but when I went to find a source, I couldn't find any mention of it. It may be something my brain just made up, but by now I'm too attached to it, so it stays, even if it's not fully cannon. It's at least way closer to cannon than the Klingons in STD. Humans and Orions, of course, lack all of these features, though Orions are claimed to be stronger than humans (which isn't really surprising, humans are generally said to be weaker than most other species, even though they're forever winning fistfights with them). The First Rite of Ascension he talks about was featured in TNG "Firstborn" and just requires lighting a candle to represent the fire in the heart of a warrior. As Paq observes an Elaysian could do it, though give their inability to function in standard-gravity environments, they'd probably need a medical brace like the one featured in DS9 "Melora". Paq also references the Starfleet tradition of allowing a ship's doctor to relieve a captain of duty for medical reasons, first established in "The Doomsday Machine." There's no cannon reference to Klingons not having a similar measure, but it does seem to contradict their general attitude toward warriors and medical care. His information on the _bat'leth_ is based on the information from DS9 "Blood Oath."

The _K't'inga_ -class battlecruiser is, like the _Miranda_ -class of Starfleet, one of those ships with a ridiculously long service history. It first appeared in _Star Trek: The Motion Picture_ , which was set in the 2270s. A hundred years later DS9 was still throwing dozens of them up on the screen as front-line warships. In keeping with my treatment of the _Miranda_ -class _USS Nautilus_ as no longer fit for service on the front lines, I'm treating the old _K't'inga_ -class ships as a largely outdated design, downgraded from battlecruiser to light cruiser status by the creation of bigger and more powerful ships. The _B'rel_ -class bird-of-prey and the _Ki'tang_ herself similarly are seen as older ships surpassed by modern technology. Which is not to say the Klingons won't use them in battle. As this chapter establishes and as was touched on in _Survivors of Yamatai_ , the Klingons are hard-pressed for ships.

All that being said, the _Raqtal_ is not an ordinary _K't'inga_ -class. The _K't'inga_ -class refit is a sleeker redesign of the original _K't'inga_ -class and can be seen as either one of the variations of hull design that players can purchase for their own _K't'inga_ -class Tier 3 cruisers, and is also the hull design of the _IKS T'Nek_ , an NPC ship in Battle Group Omega. In game, the only difference between the refit and the original is purely visual, but I wanted the refit to take the old _K't'inga_ -class and make it a viable modern warship again, accordingly I gave it ablative armor and quantum torpedoes, lifting it to heavy cruiser status. While these are powerful upgrades, ablative armor and quantum torpedoes have both become much more common since the _USS Defiant_ introduced them in 2371.

A _kellicam_ is the cannon Klingon unit of distance, which seems to be about two kilometers, making the _Raqtal_ about 300 meters long (which is based on the size charts available from the Star Trek Online wiki). A _DarSeq_ is the Klingon unit of currency, as established in TNG: "Firstborn." The idea that Klingon Houses buy their own ships originates from the _Klingon Bird-of-Prey Owner's Manual_ , which I'll be referring to a lot.

This chapter also starts the buildup to the Battle of Ganalda IV, which was briefly mentioned in _Survivors of Yamatai_. In DS9 "Nor the Battle to the Strong," Galanda IV was a Klingon world lost to the Federation in the Federation-Klingon War of 2373, the loss of which greatly enraged the Klingons. In _Star Trek Online_ , Galanda IV is back in Klingon hands and plays host to a large space station which serves as a PvP hub for Klingon players. Here, I've imagined that station serving as one of the Empire's major shipyards, which is not too much of a stretch given that it does have a shipyard and is the starting point of quests featuring the new _Bortasqu'_ -class ship headed out on it shakedown cruises.

While Martok himself is dead by this point in the game's history, his House is still a powerful force in Klingon military and politics, though their past alliance with the Federation makes it obvious why Jurlek would think they lack the spine to fight Starfleet.


	10. Duel

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit. Stardates were calculated with the help of the TNG Stardate Calculator available on TrekGuide .com and may be slightly out of sync with those used in the game's lore.

* * *

 _ **Duel**_

IKS Ki'tang _, Year of Kahless 1032, Day 317, 05:17 hours_

 _Nita of the House of Morath's personal log:_

 _The Second Rite of Ascension begins in only a few minutes. The first test will be a duel to first blood with_ bat'leths _. While we can choose any opponent, K'mar has made it clear that he intends to choose me, and not only beat me, but kill me if he can. I'm confident I could best him with a light_ mek'leth _, but the traditional_ bat'leth _is too heavy. I need to be careful about this and come up with a plan, or I'll never be a warrior and I might just end up dead!_

* * *

Nita sat on one of the benches in the training hall of the _Ki'tang_ , her _bat'leth_ across her knees, watching as K'mar practiced his forms. He could see her watching him of course. He had challenged her to join him, but she'd made no reply. She knew she had to save her strength for the duel. More than that, she knew she had to come up with a plan before the duel came. If she didn't, K'mar might well kill her, and he'd certainly prove Paq's dire warnings correct. She had to come up with something clever. _There's a way past any obstacle, if you're clever_ , she reminded herself.

K'mar wasn't clever, he was angry and he was strong. He was also not very good with his _bat'leth_ forms. Although he performed most of the basic forms tolerably well, the more advanced forms he threw in to round out his style were sloppily executed. Nita noted the openings as she watched him perform the Three-Talon Attack and the Warlord's Defense. Both left openings and opportunities she could have easily exploited with her _mek'leth_ , but _mek'leth_ s were not allowed in the duel and Nita's actual weapon would be much heavier and slower. The only opening she thought she could exploit with her _bat'leth_ was in the Horns of the Kri'stak Targ. When K'mar practiced it, he held is blade unevenly, too high on the right side when it was supposed to be level. It was obvious he was over-eager to switch his grip to be ready to deliver the killing blow with Kang's Crescent as a follow-up move. The opening was small, but it was there, and Nita thought she could dodge around to his right side and attack the back of his leg before he could respond. It would be a near thing, though, and she had no idea how she'd get him to perform the Horns of the Kri'stak Targ in the first place. It was a fairly simple move, but also a pretty uncommon one. It was only used when one had the high ground and a good opening between oneself and one's opponent, and wanted to knock them down for that deadly downward swing from Kang's Crescent.

Before she could think on it any further, Doran entered the training hall. She gestured to both of them. "It is time," she said. "Follow me to the transporter room."

Nita stood and followed Doran and K'mar to the transporter room. Morath, B'kangder, and Paq were waiting there, already on the transporter pad. Doran joined them, and K'mar took one of the last open spots in the front of the pad. Nita stepped up beside him on the pad, her bat'leth in hand, as was his. He glared at her.

Then Morath said, "Ch'gren, beam us to the Warriors Hall: K'mar and Nita into the area, and the rest of us to the observation deck.

Ch'gren nodded and punched a command sequence into the control console. The whole group vanished in a cascade of red sparks.

* * *

 _Warrior's Hall, First City, Qo'noS; Year of Kahless, Day 317, 06:00 hours_

* * *

When the red sparks cleared from Nita's vision, she found herself standing in a dimly lit hall. In the center of this hall was a large circular metal platform, raised several steps up off the main floor. The platform was plated in gold, with red lights embedded in its steps illuminating Klingonese script that extoled the virtues of a warrior. Around the edges of the platform stood three large square braziers, fully enclosed in red metal, which gave off most of the light in the hall. Just beyond the farthest of these braziers stood a podium emblazoned with the distinctive Klingon trefoil: the three-pointed symbol of the empire. The podium was inaccessible from the ground floor, but could be accessed by a catwalk leading to the second-floor galleries along the perimeter of the hall. The galleries themselves were railed balconies, separated from the arena by the barely-visible red hue of a forcefield and supported by the statues of great warriors which lined the walls all around the hall. The balconies were filled with Klingon spectators, with more beaming in all the time. The sounds of the Warrior's Anthem, sung by a hundred voices, filled the hall, echoing over the sounds of the spectators pounding their fists in time with the beat as they watched and passed around bloodwine.

On the floor of the arena, Nita stood among a cluster of nearly twenty young Klingons, and one Gorn. Each of them was armored like her and held a bat'leth ready in their hands. They eyed each other nervously, waiting for the first sign of an impending attack, each of them wondering whether or not they should strike first. Nita made her way slowly and carefully through the crowd, trying to keep her distance from the other combatants as she tried to make distance between herself and K'mar. K'mar saw her though, and he followed her. The look in his eyes was almost eager. He was so confident that he would beat her this time, and put an end to their rivalry once and for all. Nita knew she could not escape him, so instead she prepared herself as best she could. She positioned herself on the steps of the platform in the center of the arena and put her back to one of the braziers, forcing K'mar to approach her from lower ground, with the light in his eyes. The disadvantageous position did not dissuade him though, and he continued stepping closer, till he was almost in striking distance.

Suddenly there was a tremendous cracking sound from the top of the podium. Sparks rained down on the arena as a white-haired Klingon in black robes slammed the metal sphere in his gauntleted fist against the metal surface of the podium repeatedly. "There will be silence! And order!" he shouted, his gravelly voice amplified by the podium's sound systems. The singing died down, and the warriors in the arena below stopped circling each other in nervous anticipation. All eyes went to the Klingon judge in the podium. "You in the arena come before us to become warriors in the tradition of Kahless the Unforgettable, as laid out in the ten precepts of the _qeS'a'_! Today, you will be tested, and those of you who are worthy will become warriors. You will be tested in strength, skill, endurance, and bravery, but most of all you will be tested in your ability to uphold the precepts of the _qeS'a'_ in the most arduous of circumstances," the judge announced.

He swept the arena with his gaze before he continued. "The seventh precept of the _qeS'a'_ is that a warrior leaves nothing for tomorrow. Accordingly, you will complete these trials today, or not at all. There will be no second chances!" He paused to let that sink in, but everyone present already knew that they'd get only one chance to pass the Second Rite of Ascension. "The eighth precept is to choose death over chains. Accordingly, if you fail in this trial, you may leave one of two ways: either through death and _Hegh'bat_ , or through chains when you are carried forth to spend your life serving those who passed through the Rite you failed. With this said, let us begin the single-combat duels to first blood." He pointed a gauntleted hand at K'mar. "You! You seem eager to fight. The spirit of a warrior may indeed rest in your heart. You will be the first to duel."

"He is of a minor House! We should go first!" another initiate objected. Nita recognized the sigil of the House of Torg on his armband.

The judge pounded his sphere against the podium, throwing up a fresh cascade of sparks. "Silence! I have no House or name, nor do I favor any. My only allegiance is to the traditions of Kahless, and to Klingon law! I say who will go and who will wait, and this one will go first!" He turned back to K'mar. "The first precept of the _qeS'a'_ is to choose your enemies well. Choose who you will fight!"

That was a foregone conclusion. K'mar tipped his _bat'leth_ at Nita. "I will fight her!"

"Then both of you obey the second precept: strike quickly, or strike not!"

K'mar shouted a battlecry and rushed Nita, swinging his _bat'leth_ at her head. She dodged and struck at his side. He blocked the blow in time, but just barely. He shoved against her blade, hard. His superior strength forced her back into the metal stand of the brazier. She could feel the heat on her neck and shoulders. She wondered how close she was to having her hair catch fire. She twisted her _bat'leth_ , forcing K'mar to momentarily disengage, then she spun around to the left, getting clear of the brazier.

"The third precept of the _qeS'a'_! Always face your enemy!" the judge shouted.

Nita faced K'mar. He approached her slowly, circling. They traded a couple of probing attacks. Nita tried to launch an earnest attack when her back was to the brazier again, but K'mar blocked it and counter-attacked with such force that Nita felt the jarring, painful impact all the way up her arm. She side-stepped his next blow, made a swipe at his right side, but she was too slow. He blocked it.

"The fifth precept! Reveal your true self in combat!" shouts the judge. "Speak your names!"

"I am K'mar, son of Morath!" The Klingon took his _bat'leth_ in an aggressive grip with both hands on one end. "I am Morath's only child and heir!" He made a powerful swing at Nita's head. She blocked the blow, though it sent sharp jolts of pain through her shoulder. She pushed back feebly. He took the _bat'leth_ in a more balanced grip. "Today, I am a warrior!" He made a full body swing at Nita.

She managed to block it, but the blow was so powerful it knocked her over. She went rolling down the stairs around the base of the central platform to the main floor. Her arms ached from the impact, and there was something wet on her lips. She wiped at it with one hand. It was spit, not blood. She raised her _bat'leth_ and assumed a ready stance. "I am Nita, of the House of Morath," she said. "I am the daughter of a starship captain, and today I am a warrior!"

K'mar roared. He came charging down at her, his blade held unevenly, too high on the right side, as he attempted to use the Horns of the Kri'stak Targ to knock her off her feet for the killing blow. Nita saw her opening. She dropped to one knee in a fluid motion, taking herself under the rushing blade, around on K'mar's right side. She swung her bat'leth around at his legs. Its tips sunk into the back of his right knee. At the same time, he brought his own blade around. Nita felt a sharp pain in her right arm as the tip of K'mar's bat'leth tore into her flesh, just below the shoulder. They both cried out in pain.

"Hold!" The judge slammed the metal sphere into the podium. Sparks flew everywhere. "Officers, examine them!"

A pair of Klingon officers in KDF uniform materialized in the arena, shoving past the other initiates till they reached K'mar and Nita, still locked together, their bat'leths still embedded in one another's flesh. "They both bleed!" one of the officers reported.

"Then both shall pass on to the final challenge!" He slammed the sphere down once more. "Beam them to the Initiation Chamber!"

The officers laid a hand on each of them, then one of them touched his wrist comm. "Four to beam out!" he said, and the arena vanished in a cascade of red lights.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** None of the _bat'leth_ techniques named in this chapter are from the canon or from any novels either. There are a few _bat'leth_ techniques named in some of the TNG novels, but they're portrayed as advanced techniques, like the supposedly impenetrable B'Arq's defense. All of those are rather above the skill level of Nita and K'mar to perform at this point. Kri'stak is the name of the volcano from whose fires Kahless supposedly forged the first _bat'leth_ (TNG: "Rightful Heir").

The Warrior's Hall in part two of this chapter is based on the the Warrior's Hall in First City seen in the Klingon faction mission "First City." In fact, as near as I could, I tried to make it the same hall. The major departures were putting onlookers in a balcony shielded by a forcefield (to prevent friends and relatives from cheating and helping an initiate win his or her first duel), and the podium. The judge is based on the judges that appear in _Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country_ and ENT: "Judgement". I wanted some one to organize and give structure and narration to the duel rather than having it be a free-for-all, and given the importance of being a warrior in Klingon society, I thought it fitting that the person be a judge. I also used the _qeS'a'_ , as laid out in _The Klingon Art of War_ , for more inspiration here. I admit that book inspired a _lot_ of this story!


	11. Second Rite of Ascension

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

 _ **Second Rite of Ascension**_

* * *

 _Initiation Chamber, First City, Qo'noS; Year of Kahless 1032, Day 317, 06:21 Hours_

 _Nita of the House of Morath's personal log:_

 _I've passed the first test. K'mar and I struck each other simultaneously and both have been sent on to face the final challenge of the Second Rite of Ascension: the painsticks! I'm already injured though, wounded by K'mar's blow and my arms aching from the heavy blows of the bat'leth duel. I have to make it, though. This is my only chance to become a warrior!_

* * *

As soon as they materialized in the Initiation Chamber, Paq pushed past the KDF officers. "House surgeon! Make way!" he said. He frowned when he saw Nita and K'mar still locked together, their blades in each other's flesh. "The duel's over and you both won. Be happy about it and stop stabbing each other!"

Nita withdrew her blade carefully, easing it straight out of the wound with her good left hand so as not to cause further damage. K'mar roughly ripped his _bat'leth_ out of her right arm, cutting her further and causing her to cry out and drop her weapon.

K'mar sneered at her, then glared at Paq. "I do not need your services, surgeon," he said, then walked proudly away, toward the entrance to the chamber where Morath and B'kangder were just coming down. He walked with a noticeable limp on his right side, but he seemed otherwise capable of ignoring his injury.

Nita was not. Her right arm felt like a deadweight. She clasped her left hand over the wound. She could feel the hot red blood running over her fingers in surges timed with the beating of her heart.

Paq ran a quick scan, then moved her hand firmly out of his way while he set to work on her wound. "You've got a severe cut, down through the muscle to the bone, and your shoulder is dislocated. I can stop the bleeding, but the other injuries will take time: at least an hour! In addition, your elevated adrenaline has put your pheromone glands into overdrive. They're starting to overcome the suppressant."

"Then I need another dose." Without waiting for Paq, Nita reached to her masker and keyed up another injection. She felt a cool rush as the drugs entered her bloodstream.

Paq's eyes went wide when he saw what she was doing. Paq slapped her hand away, but it was too late. He pulled the vial of suppressant out of the masker and threw it across the room, shattering it. " _PetaQ_! Are you trying to kill yourself? Your system is at borderline toxic shock as it is. You keep dosing yourself with that stuff without allowing your body to rest and it _will_ kill you!"

"I don't have a lethal dose yet, right?" she asked, already certain of the answer. Paq was careful, and he would have built the masker to avoid such a possibility.

"You don't," Paq confirmed. "But the amount of suppressant built up in your system is well beyond what I'd consider safe. Add in the adrenaline, the bloodloss, and the arm—which will be useless until I can get you proper medical care—and you're in no shape for completing the Second Rite of Ascension."

"K'mar is injured too, and he's still going to do it," Nita said.

"K'mar is Klingon! He probably doesn't even feel that injury anymore. The only reason he's limping is because you probably tore a couple of his lateral ligaments clean through," said Paq. "You, on the other hand, are going to feel your injuries plenty!"

Nita had to admit he was right. The pain alone made her want to grit her teeth, grip her arm, and curl up in the corner and wait for it to end. But she couldn't. "I only have one chance at this. I have to finish the Rite!"

"At least let me administer a painkiller," said Paq.

Nita shook her head. "It would be a violation of Klingon tradition."

"You're an Orion-human hybrid," Paq pointed out.

"I will complete the Rite as a Klingon," Nita insisted.

"You need to have your head examined!" Paq slapped a bandage over the cut, though the bleeding had mostly stopped.

Doran approached them at that moment. "Are you done, doctor?" she asked.

"I've done all the patient will allow me to do," Paq answered. He packed up his supplies and walked away in a huff.

Doran ignored him and turned to Nita. "You have brought honor to yourself and our House by your conduct so far," she told Nita. "Are you prepared to complete the Rite of Ascension?"

"I am," Nita said, standing.

"Then take this," said Doran. "The blade of a warrior!" She handed Nita a _d'k tahg_.

Nita accepted the dagger with her left hand, her right still hanging uselessly by her side. She turned it over, triggering the two smaller blades to spring out to the sides. She smiled when she read the inscription on the hilt. "You even put my name on it."

"You have earned it," Doran said. "In fact, you earned it even before you began the Rite. In my eyes, you have always been and always will be a worthy warrior."

Nita felt tears in her eyes that had nothing to do with the pain in her arm. She retracted the side blades and sheathed the _d'k tahg_ on her belt. Then she clasped Doran in a close hug with one arm. After an awkward moment, the Klingon woman returned the embrace. "You have been the best trainer, the best mother I could ever have asked for," Nita said.

"You have been a better daughter to me than I could ever have imagined," said Doran.

Just then there was a loud pounding sound. The judge was back, seated now at a podium on the far side of the Initiation Chamber. Before the podium a large brazier burned brightly, and between it and the initiates was a long narrow strip of floor made of metal grates underlit by red glowpanels. To either side were raised platforms on which eight KDF officers stood in full ceremonial uniform, their brown leather tunics and pants elaborately cut, layered, and paneled, accented with silver edging and a silver belt buckle. Each of them held a meter-long metal prod: a painstick.

"It is time," Doran said. She released Nita and walked around the raised platforms to the other side, along with the other guests and observers. Morath and B'kangder passed by Nita as well. Morath acknowledged her with a pat on the shoulder (her left shoulder), and B'kangder even gave Nita a momentary smile. Then they were gone and the eleven initiates who'd made it through the duel (which included Nita, nine Klingons, and the Gorn), were left alone on this side of the chamber.

"You, who have passed the first test, have demonstrated your commitment to six of the precepts of the _qeS'a'_!" the judge intoned. "But to truly follow in the way of Kahless the Unforgettable, you must demonstrate your commitment to all ten. Four remain, and you will show your adherence to them here, in this chamber, in the final test. You will seek adversity, which is the fourth precept, by walking the river of blood between the two platforms. You will destroy weakness within yourselves, which is the sixth precept, by continuing, despite the agony you will endure. You will demonstrate your commitment to die standing up, which is the ninth precept, by finishing the journey on your feet, no matter what you may endure. Finally, you will guard honor above all, which is the tenth and most important precept, by holding your _d'k tahg_ in your hand, ready, until you reach the other side. Fail in any of these, and you will be escorted hence as a servant. Succeed, and you will be a warrior! _Qapla'_!"

" _Qapla'_!" The onlookers echoed.

"K'mar, son of Morath!" the judge called. "You were the first to duel, and you will be the first to walk the river of pain. Are you ready?"

K'mar stepped up to the end of the path between the two platforms, still limping a little. "I am ready!" he said. He drew his _d'k tahg_ and stepped forward, stopping between the first pair of officers. He looked to each of them, challenge in his eyes. "Today, I am a warrior!" he said, speaking the ritual chant. "I must show you my heart! I travel the river of blood!"

The first officers thrust their painsticks into his sides. The red energy crackled and hummed across his body. The young Klingon roared in pain. His right leg buckled, but he managed to keep it from collapsing entirely. Then the painsticks were withdrawn. He breathed heavily, but continued, limping forward to the next pair. "I am ready to suffer!" he shouted. "I await battle!"

The second pair of officers thrust their painsticks into his sides. He roared with agony again. His right knee giving out this time. Yet he managed to remain on his feet and kept his grip on his _d'k tahg_. When the officers withdrew their painsticks, he stood, getting his right leg under him again as he limped forward, to the third pair of officers. "The battle is mine!" he shouted. "I crave only the blood of the enemy!"

The third pair of officers thrust their painsticks into his sides. He cried out as his right leg buckled instantly, followed by his right. He managed not to go down past his knees, though, and after several long seconds, the officers withdrew their painsticks. K'mar grabbed the platform for support and pushed himself back to his feet. He staggered onward, to the final pair of officers. "The bile of the vanquished flows over my hands!" he shouted. "Attack me!"

The final pair of officers thrust their painsticks into his sides. The chamber echoed with K'mar's screams. His legs collapsed instantly and it seemed as though the current from painsticks themselves was the only thing keeping him upright. When they were withdrawn, he fell forward. Nita gasped, momentarily fearing the worst. But K'mar had managed to keep his grip on his _d'k tahg_. He pushed himself back to his feet slowly, then limped past the final pair of officers to the brazier, and into the waiting arms of Morath and B'kangder.

"If a warrior falls down eight times, he should get up nine times, as Kahless has said," the judge announced. "Today you are a warrior, K'mar, son of Morath! You have completed the Second Rite of Ascension."

There were congratulatory shouts from the other side as several Klingons clapped K'mar on the back and one brought him a mug of bloodwine.

"Nita of the House of Morath, daughter of a starship captain!" the judge called. "You also were first to duel and first to draw blood in the first trial. You shall be the next to walk the river of blood. Are you ready?"

Nita walked to the edge of the path between the two platforms. She took a deep breath, looking to the officers on her right and left with their impassive faces, then she saw Doran, watching her from the other side. She drew her _d'k tahg_ with her left hand, letting the side blades spring out. "I am ready!" she said.

She stepped forward. "Today, I am a warrior!" she said, shouting the ritual chant. "I must show you my heart! I travel the river of blood!"

The first pair of officers plunged their painsticks into her sides. Nita had never felt such agony. She was dimly aware of her voice screaming uncontrollably, and her legs giving out beneath her. She reminded herself that she had to keep her grip on the _d'k tahg_. She concentrated all her willpower on keeping her left hand closed on the hilt. She managed to hold on, but only barely.

Then, as suddenly as it began, the pain ended. A terrible ache remained throughout her body, making Nita want to just lie down and wait for it to go away, but she could not. She shifted her grip on her _d'k tahg_ , pushing herself back to her feet with one hand on the platform to her left. She shuffled forward. It was hard to put one foot in front of the other, hard to balance. The room seemed to spin. She stopped in front of the second pair of officers, her mind scrambling for a moment to find the words and speak coherent Klingonese. "I…I am ready to suffer!" she shouted at last, her voice hoarse. "I await battle!"

The second pair of officers thrust their painsticks at her. She had not imagined the second strike could be more painful than the first. _Hold on! Hold on!_ she urged her left hand to remain closed while the rest of her body spasmed uncontrollably in agony. Her mind fluttered on the edge of consciousness. _Stay awake!_ she told herself, helplessly.

Then it was over. She found herself doubled over on the floor. The tip of her dagger was dug in to the metal grid on the floor, and her grip on its hilt was the only thing keeping her upright. She pushed up, managing to get her legs under her, but just barely. Her muscles felt like they were on fire and made of lead. She could barely move, and yet she had to move. The room kept spinning. She staggered back a step, then forward. She nearly slammed into the platform on her left. She braced herself with the hand holding the knife and was dimly aware that she was between the third pair of officers now. There was something…something she needed to do. Something she needed to say. "The battle…" She struggled, trying to find the rest of the phrase. "The battle is…mine. I…crave the blood…only the blood…of my enemies…"

The painsticks struck for a third time. Nita screamed in agony and lost any semblance of control. She fell writhing to the ground and moments later slipped mercifully into unconsciousness. Her last thought was a hopeless disappointment that she had failed.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** This part of the Second Rite of Ascension is based as closely as I could manage on Worf's recreated ceremony in TNG: "The Icarus Factor." I added the bit about the _d'k tahg_ to tie it in to the significance these daggers have in Klingon culture, and the last precept of the _qeS'a'_ that I've been using to organize the whole rite. Nita does not pass the rite, though. I hope no on is terribly disappointed or surprised by this. Nita may be one of the tougher Star Trek protagonists in my stories, but she's nowhere near as tough as Worf, and even he got laid out on the deck by this Rite. As Paq has said several times, she's _not_ a Klingon, and if she's going to be accepted in Klingon society, she's going to need to do it in a way the plays better to her own capabilities rather than relying on her lackluster brute strength and endurance.

More to come soon!


	12. Isolation

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

 _ **Isolation**_

* * *

IKS Ki'tang _, Year of Kahless 1032, Day 318, 00:43 hours_

* * *

Nita awoke suddenly on a narrow cot. She rolled out of bed, hand instictively reaching for her mek'leth under the pillow. It wasn't there. Neither was her room, or her usual sleeping attire. Instead of a white tunic, she found herself wearing a loose-fitting medical gown with various monitoring devices strapped to it. Instead of her quarters at the estate, she found herself in a small room with solid duranium walls on three sides and a flickering red forcefield on the fourth. Beyond it she could see a bench where Doran was sitting.

The Klingon woman rose as soon as Nita rolled out of bed. "Doctor Paq! She's awake!" she called.

Paq stumbled into view, rubbing his eyes on the sleeve of a sleep-rumpled tunic. "Finally," he said. He immediately began rummaging around in his equipment case.

"Where am I?" Nita asked, looking around for anything familiar. She was clearly on a Klingon ship. She could see it in the design of the bulkheads, feel it in the thrum of the engines beneath her feet.

"You are aboard the _Ki'tang_ ," Doran answered. "And you are among friends."

"I'm in the brig, on Deck 1." She remembered the place now from her childhood explorations, though it went without saying that she'd never seen it from inside a cell. "Why am I in the brig?"

"It was the best we could come up with for medical isolation, especially with the need to keep the air you breathe separate from the atmosphere of the rest of the ship," said Paq, pulling a respirator out of his equipment case. "I would have preferred the quarantine room on the _Raqtal_ , but the engineers weren't finished with it yet." He fitted the respirator over his nose and mouth, tightening the straps.

Nita stepped back, afraid, but not of Paq. More afraid of what he'd said. "I'm sick then? Contagious?"

"Sick, yes," he answered, his voice muffled by the respirator. "Contagious…no. You're sick in that you're getting over a severe case of pheromone-suppressant toxic buildup, something which I warned you repeatedly would happen. But did you listen?" The old doctor huffed. He grabbed a scanner and turned to Doran. "Stand clear and prepare to lower the forcefield."

"If that's all it is, then why the mask? Why the forcefield?"

"Pheromones," Paq said. The forcefield flared and vanished. Paq stepped quickly through and it flashed back into existence the moment he was on the other side. "You nearly killed yourself with suppressants and your Orion physiology isn't taking it without a fight. Your pheromone glands are hyperactive, swollen, and producing about four times the normal concentration of pheromones for a full-blooded Orion woman of your age—which is about eight or ten times the level it should be for you, as an Orion-human female. Those are dangerous levels, not just for you, but for everyone around you. Without the forcefield, Doran would be incapacitated by a headache and lethargy for half an hour. Without the mask, I'd suffer…let's just say other effects. At my age, I'd probably go into cardiac arrest!" He approached her with the scanner held out. "Stand still," he ordered.

She obeyed. She felt somehow nervous around Paq in a way she never had before. Somehow afraid he might touch her and yet…for some reason also hoping he would, and wanting to touch him as well. She was acutely aware of the way the medical tunic clung to her body's supple curves, the way the soft fabric brushed against her skin, and the firmness of the bands that held the various medical monitoring devices close to her. She felt a strange tingling in her stomach—not exactly unpleasant, in fact sort of the opposite, but definitely unwelcome.

"The swelling's starting to go down, good," Paq muttered to himself. "The counter-agent seems to be clearing out the buildup. Your arm is fine now too. You won't even have a scar from that. You can thank me for that later. He closed his scanner and met her eyes. We'll have to keep you in medical isolation for another three days, minimum. Probably better to make it six or seven to be safe." He loaded a hypospray and pressed it against her neck.

Nita flinched at the sudden contact, the scratched instinctively at the spot he'd injected her. It itched. "What was that?"

"Counter-agent, and concentrated," he explained. "You'll need a fresh dose every six hours until the swelling subsides. Then at least once a day after that. And when you finally get out of here, you will _not_ miss your weekly dose or, I swear by Kahless, next time I will _let_ you die!"

He shuffled out of the cell. Doran lowered the forcefield for the old surgeon, then immediately put it back in place. Nita followed him to the edge of the cell and watched him leave. Her hand reached out for the forcefield, but she didn't dare to touch it. She looked to her teacher and asked the question she dreaded hearing the answer to. "Doran what…what about the Rite?"

Doran looked down. "You were rejected," she said. "You fell under the painsticks of the third pair of officers and did not rise. You also dropped your _d'k tahg_. The judge has ruled there will be no second chances. I am sorry, Nita."

Nita clenched her fists and lowered her eyes, trying to hold in her turbulent emotions. She could feel the tears escaping from her eyelids, sliding down her cheeks. "I will never be a warrior," she said, her voice trembling, weak, like herself. "I wish they had killed me there on the floor of the Initiation Chamber!"

"I do not." Doran stepped closer and spoke firmly, but with an undertone of warmth in her voice. "It was wrong of me to expect you to complete the Klingon Rite of Ascension. I see that now, but not because you were not a warrior. You have always been a warrior, since the day I first met you with a bloody knife in your hand and fire in your eyes! I was a _petaQ_ not to have seen it and realized that no warrior need undergo the Rite of Ascension to be what she has always been."

Nita smiled. They were touching words, but they did not change her fate. "No one will see me as a warrior," she said. "I'll be an outcast, and never stand on a starship ever again!"

"You will not be outcast!" Doran assured. "The House of Morath will always welcome you, so long as I am its _Gin'tak_. It would be dishonorable to cast you out! As for going to space, you could become an engineer, here on this very vessel. You already know the _Ki'tang_ almost as well as any of them!"

"And what kind of life would that be, living as a servant, never to see the stars from the bridge again?" she squeezed her eyes shut and looked up to Doran. "I will perform the _hegh'bat_ ," she said. "I ask for your help, as the one closest to me."

"As the one closest to you and _Gin'tak_ to the House of Morath which you serve, it is my duty to refuse," said Doran, giving Nita a hard look. "The Rite went poorly, and it is true that you must now seek other options, but you are not a burden to your House or your friends. You are not unable to face an enemy on your feet. You are yet able to become a warrior. No lesser person than Martok once stood in your place, a servant, barred from serving as a warrior! He took up a position aboard the flagship of General ShiVang as a civilian laborer, as you now must if you are to remain in space. He acquitted himself well in a boarding action, and as a result of his undeniable valor earned a battlefield commission as not merely a warrior, but an officer! He rose to be High Chancellor of the Klingon Empire! Morath also, once was but an engineer when his ingenuity in countering the Breen energy dampening weapon saved the Klingon Empire, and with it the Alpha Quadrant from the Dominion! You have lost this battle, Nita, but the war is far from over, and I will not permit you to give up now. Do you understand? You are a warrior! You are worthy, and you must not rest until the day everyone sees it!" She pounded on the door frame of the cell. "Promise me that!"

"I promise," she said, she felt sheepish and afraid, and ashamed of how she'd let her disappointment control her. She looked up and met Doran's gaze. She saw compassion, but also confidence. Doran truly had not given up on her yet, truly saw hope for her yet, and in that Nita felt hope for herself. "I will recover and serve aboard the _Ki'tang_ until the day comes when I can prove myself in battle. I will not commit the _hegh'bat_."

"Good," said Doran. "Then I will bring you some things from your quarters before we leave orbit."

"Leave orbit?" Nita repeated.

Doran nodded. "The House of Morath has pledged to stand in battle with the House of Martok in defense of the Ganalda Station against the approaching Federation fleet. Their forces are massing for a final push to the Station, and our counter-attack gathers as well. We will reach Ganalda in three days' time. There you may well have your first taste of battle since you were a girl, and your first chance to prove yourself in the eyes of the Klingon Empire!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Nita's story continues! I hope no one minds that I didn't start this one with one of my in-character logs. It just seemed redundant to describe what happened in the last chapter in a log, then in dialogue between the characters as well.

The idea that a brig's life support is isolated from that of the rest of the ship is never established in canon (unless you count _Star Trek Discovery_ , which I don't—I am _not_ writing about _those_ Klingons!), but it does make a certain amount of sense as otherwise the prisoner might be able to release toxic gas into the shared air supply or otherwise use the link in the systems in an escape attempt.

In canon Orion pheromones are never portrayed as being as potent as Nita's are here. The effect is portrayed as slow and subtle rather than fast and dangerous. In _Star Trek Online_ , Orion pheromones give Orion players an instantaneous stun ability against characters of the opposite sex. I wanted to strike a sort of balance with this situation.

 _Hegh'bat_ is Klingon ritual suicide, committed by a Klingon when he or she can no longer stand to face their enemies in order to die with honor instead of living on to become a burden to one's House. After being paralyzed by a fallen crate, Worf asked Riker to assist him in the _Hegh'bat_ , but he refused. Here Doran's reasoning for refusing lies in her personal faith in Nita, her surrogate daughter, and also in the origin stories of Martok (from DS9: "Once More Unto the Breach") and Morath (which is my own invention, based on the _Ki'tang_ 's canon backstory from DS9: "When it Rains...").

And now, finally, we begin the journey to the Battle of Ganalda IV. I've been waiting a long time to present this to you. I hope you're as excited as I am!


	13. Ambush

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit. Stardates were calculated with the help of the TNG Stardate Calculator available on TrekGuide .com and may be slightly out of sync with those used in the game's lore.

* * *

 ** _Part III: Warrior_**

* * *

 _ **Ambush**_

* * *

USS Endurance _, Archanis Sector, Deep Space  
_

 _Captain's Log, Stardate 81629.1_

 _The_ Endurance _is approaching the end of its five-day patrol with the_ Excaliber _-class light cruisers_ Caliburn _and_ Mjolnir _, and the_ Defiant _-class escorts_ Vindication _and_ Philosopher _. While we've successfully engaged a number of Klingon birds-of-prey or their allied Orion and Nausicaan raiders acting alone or in small groups, we're still tracking the big prize: a large subspace distortion moving at warp velocities that indicates the presence of a cloaked Klingon fleet, or large capital ship. We've devised a ruse to try and lure it out, by keeping the_ Vindication _and the_ Philosopher _cloaked while_ Caliburn _stages a major mechanical failure to split up our little squadron. We'll see if the Klingons will take the bait…_

* * *

"The _USS Caliburn_ is dropping out of formation," Lieutenant Joshua Walsh reported from the science station on the bridge of the _USS Endurance_. "They've dropped to warp two." Another alert beeped at his console. "Their warp field has destabilized. They've dropped to impulse. They're falling behind rapidly."

"Maintain course and speed," said Captain Nathaniel Ramsey, watching as the stars streaked past the sleek curves of his _Sovereign_ -class ship, the flagship of this little five-ship squadron. "We're in a pretty open formation, it might take a while for something like this to get our attention," he said.

Another alert sounded from the science station. " _Caliburn_ is venting plasma from their port nacelle. They've lost main power, too," Joshua reported. "They're broadcasting a distress signal on all frequencies."

At the helm, Tellarite Lieutenant Pozel rolled her eyes and snorted through her pig-like nose. "More like hamming it up on all frequencies," she said. "Captain Melborne's overacting is atrocious!"

"Actually, it looks pretty convincing from here," said Joshua. "If I hadn't been in the conference room when we came up with this strategy, I'd think that the _Caliburn_ really was experiencing a serious mechanical problem."

"Let's just hope the Klingons share your assessment," said Ramsey. "Tactical, signal for the _Mjolnir_ to maintain course and speed. Helm, drop us out of warp and bring us about at one quarter impulse. No need to rush things. We want to create some distance, make it look like our formation's scattered. Tazark, what's the status of the _Vindication_ and the _Philosopher_?"

"Both Defiant-class escorts are still under cloak and in position, staying close to the _Mojlnir_ and _Caliburn_ respectively," the Efrosian tactical officer reported.

"Good." Ramsey turned to the science station. "Josh, any change in that subspace distortion?"

The science officer shook his head. "It's still maintaining a parallel course, about half a light-year away. If it's a Klingon ship or fleet, they're still not showing any interest in us."

"They will," Ramsey assured. "Keep a close eye on them, but limit yourself to passive scans," he said. "We don't want them to know we're watching."

"And if it turns out it's really just an uncharted subspace anomaly we've been tracking for the past five days, we don't want it to feel self-conscious," Pozel quipped.

Ramsey was about to respond when the tactical station beeped an alert. "Captain! We've got an urgent message from the _USS Mjolnir_!" said Lieutenant-Commander Tazark. "They've sighted the enemy!"

"A Klingon bird-of-prey?" Ramsey asked. He had personally expected the Klingons to go after the _Mjolnir_ , the _"isolated"_ and _"undamaged"_ lead ship in the formation, rather than the _Caliburn_. Attacking a disabled ship just wasn't their style.

But the Efrosian tactical officer shook his head. "No, sir! It's a Gorn battleship, _Zilant_ -class! It's crossing the _Mjolnir_ 's flight path on a perpendicular course. The battleship's transponder identifies her as the _GHS Vrah_."

Pozel's eyes widened. "That was the ship that led the raid on Ardana two weeks ago."

"It's alone now, no sign of cloaked escorts, and it's on a direct course for the Ganalda system," said Tazark.

Ramsey straightened in his chair. The Ganada System was the ultimate goal of the Federation counter-attack in this sector. It was the Klingon Empire's only remaining stronghold in the Archanis Sector, and one of its most important shipyards. And it was already very well defended. _If we let that ship join the defense at Ganalda…_ He didn't need to finish the thought. With that ship added to their forces already present, the shipyards at Ganalda would be nearly impossible for the Federation fleet to assault. But out here, with the Gorn battleship _Vrah_ on its own, as one ship against five, the odds were different. Nathaniel Ramsey made his decision. "Helm, bring us about, full impulse!" he said. "Transmit a message to _Caliburn_ telling them to drop the act. All ships, intercept that Gorn battleship at best speed!"

"Aye, sir!" said Tazark, transmitting the message.

The starfield on the forward viewscreen spun around. "Intercept course plotted, maximum warp, sir!" said Pozel.

"Engage!" said Ramsey. "All hands to battle stations!"

The starfield blurred with warp speed. The klaxon sounded throughout the ship as the crew rushed to battle stations, raising the _Endurance_ 's shields and powering her weapons. Ahead of them, across the vast distance, Ramsey knew the same thing was happening on the much smaller _Mjolnir_ and the more compact-but-powerful _Vindiction_. And ahead of those ships, he had no doubt that the Gorn were preparing as well. They'd be able to see the Federation ships by now too, and they'd surely know that they were going to be attacked. They would be readying their great ship for the coming battle. Ramsey grimly hoped that their preparations would be in vain.

"The _Caliburn_ is back at warp, coming in right behind us," Josh reported. " _Philosopher_ 's with them, they've dropped cloak."

Ramsey nodded. There was no need for pretense now. Their smaller ships would either be able to overwhelm the lone battleship's defenses, or they wouldn't. A cloak wouldn't help when the Gorn could see the rest of the five-ship squadron coming. "Time to intercept?" he prompted.

"Seventeen minutes for us," said Tazark, "but the _Mjolnir_ and the _Vindication_ will be in range in three minutes!"

Ramsey gripped his armrests. That was a long time for such small ships to go toe-to-toe with a Gorn battleship. Too long, in fact! "Order the _Mjolnir_ and the _Vindication_ to engage the target at warp velocities only," he said. "If that ship drops to impulse, they're not to follow. They can come around for strafing runs only until we arrive."

"Aye, sir," said Tazark. "Orders transmitted." He tugged at his long, drooping mustache. "They're almost in range!"

"Tactical display," Ramsey ordered. The starfield was overlaid with a grid. Two Starfleet insignia appeared, their names beside them, representing the _USS Mjolnir_ and the _USS Vindication_. Ahead of them was a red diamond overlaid with a green swirl, the insignia of the Gorn Hegemony. Shaded areas around each ship represented their weapon's ranges. As the Gorn ship passed directly ahead of the Starfleet vessels, those ranges suddenly overlapped.

"The _Mjolnir_ and the _Vindication_ are firing quantum torpedoes," said Tazark. "Minimal effect! The Gorn warship is continuing on course."

The Gorn ship passed on, with the two Starfleet vessels making hard turns at high warp to try and follow. The strain would have been incredible, but the newer _Excalibur_ -class _Mjolnir_ , whose frame was based on the geometry of the legendarily successful _Constitution_ -class, managed to make the turn closely enough to stay in weapon's range of the Gorn warship, dropping in behind it. The _Vindication_ , however, built more for tight maneuvers at impulse than at warp, swung wide and dropped far behind.

" _Mjolnir_ is firing again," Tazark reported. "The Gorn ship's aft shields are damaged. They're returning fire, photon torpedoes!" The _Mjolnir_ 's symbol blinked. "The _Mjolnir_ 's sustained several direct hits. Her shields are severely weakened."

"Order the _Mjolnir_ to fall back," Ramsey said. The small _Excaliber_ -class ship may have been outfitted for combat missions, but it was still a fast supply ship at heart, unlike the more combat-oriented _Defiant_ and _Sovereign_ -class ships in the squadron. "Have them wait for the _Vindication_ to catch up."

"I can't get a signal through to them, sir," said Josh. "The Gorn our jamming our transmissions!"

Ramsey watched helplessly as the battle unfolded before him. The symbols of the _Endurance_ , _Caliburn_ , and _Philosopher_ were on the screen now, but too far away from the action. _Vindication_ still lagged behind as well. _Mjolnir_ stubbornly stuck to the Gorn warship's flank, exchanging torpedo volleys.

"Sir, I have a visual of the battle!" Josh reported.

"Put it on screen, maximum magnification," said Ramsey.

The tactical display vanished, replaced with a warp-distorted starfield and an image of the Gorn battleship, her stout hull with asymmetrical, thick outriggers plowing ahead at maximum warp. Behind this beige armored bulk was the sleek silver shape of the _Mjolnir_. The bright flash of a quantum torpedo struck out from the _Mjolnir_ , fired from the slim neck that connected the ship's circular saucer section to its cylindrical secondary hull. The flash was absorbed by the yellow glow of the Gorn battleship's shields. In return, a trio of red photon torpedoes lashed out at the _Mjolnir_ from each of the Gorn battleship's hull sections. Two hit, and the Starfleet ship's shields flared and flickered blue.

"Can you hail the _Mjolnir_?" asked Ramsey.

Josh shook his head. "There's still too much interference. We're going to have to get closer!"

But before they could, the small Starfleet ship and the Gorn battleship exchanged a final volley. Two quantum torpedoes flew out from the _Mjolnir_. The first impacted on the battleship's shields, causing them to flicker. The second arced past the flickering shields and impacted on the Gorn warship's starboard pylon, causing a red-orange explosion. The yellow glow of two of the battleship _Vrah_ 's four warp engines began to flicker and the starfield around the ship became visibly less distorted.

"The _Vrah_ 's dropping to warp five! They've sustained damage to their warp drive and their aft shields are fluctuating!" Josh reported.

"We've got them now!" said Pozel, excitement evident.

Then, the Gorn ship returned fire. Two volleys of three photon torpedoes each raced for the _Mjolnir_ and, as the ships were closing rapidly now, every one of them hit home. The first torpedo hit the little light cruiser's shields, which vanished in a flash of blue light. The other two torpedoes of that volley cut in from either side, impacting the _Mjolnir_ 's nacelles. Both nacelles vanished in white-hot explosions, leaving behind nothing but the sparking stubs of pylons. The _Mjolnir_ reeled backwards and began to fall behind rapidly as it dropped out of warp, but it was not fast enough to avoid taking direct hits from the three remaining torpedoes. The first two hit the saucer section from below, blowing clean through and blasting half the saucer section apart in a massive secondary explosion. The third torpedo hit the secondary hull on the port side, blowing off the port nacelle pylon completely and leaving a huge black crater in its place. What was left of the ship tumbled through space, helpless and critically damaged.

Tazark swore into his mustache, and Pozel was uncharacteristically silent. Ramsey pounded a fist into the armrest of the center seat. He'd been too late to save them! "Josh, order the _Caliburn_ to drop out of warp and pick up the survivors of the _Mjolnir_ ," he said. It was the only thing he could do for them now. "Have the _Philosopher_ and the _Vindication_ form up on us. We're going after that battleship!"

"Aye, sir!" said Josh, putting the commands into his console.

On the viewscreen the distinctively compact shape of the _Defiant_ -class _Vindication_ swung into view, taking up a position on the _Endurance_ 's port side. This was mirrored by the identical _Philosopher_ taking up a similar position on the _Endurance_ 's starboard side. Ahead of them the warped starfield shifted again, as the Gorn battleship began to slow and turn.

"Sir, the _Vrah_ is dropping out of warp," said Josh. "They're coming about!"

"They're going to try to take us head on!" warned Pozel.

But the Starfleet squadron was coming in too fast for the Gorn battleship to complete its turn. "Swing us around on their starboard flank!" Ramsey ordered. "Target their aft quarter as you bear. Attack pattern alpha!"

The trio of starships dropped out of warp firing. They launched quantum torpedoes first, the bright flashes scoring eight hits on the smaller starboard outrigger of the Gorn battleship. The _Vrah_ 's shields flared yellow and it returned fire. A dozen red photon torpedoes flew from its forward launchers, but they all went wide as the Starfleet vessels raced by the battleship's flank. The _Vindication_ and _Philosopher_ opened up with their phaser cannons firing quadruple staccato bursts of red-orange energy into the Gorn's shields. The _Endurance_ added a trio of beams of powerful phaser fire into the battleship's flank. But the _Vrah_ was not defenseless. It returned fire with bright green beams of disruptor energy lancing out at all three ships at once.

Two of those beams hit the _Endurance_. The bridge shook. "Shields at 73%!" Josh reported.

"We'll have to make this quick," Ramsey said. Even with three ships, they could not stand up to the battleship's sheer firepower for long. "Take us around her aft quarter! Have the _Vindication_ and _Philosopher_ split off for an independent run on that starboard engine!"

The smaller _Defiant_ -class ships broke off and flying straight backward from the Gorn ship, gaining some distance for their attack run. Meanwhile, the _Endurance_ swept around behind the slower Gorn battleship, peppering it with beams of phaser fire. The _Vrah_ 's aft shields flickered and died, but it's hull armor was thick, holding out the worst of the damage. It returned fire, green beams lancing out and pounding at the _Endurance_ 's shields.

On the bridge of the _Endurance_ , sparks flew from an overhead line. Ramsey gripped his seat's armrests to hold himself steady against the shaking of his ship. "Starboard shields down to 38%!" Josh warned.

"Take us around to their port side! We've got to give the _Vindication_ and the _Philosopher_ a clean shot at their aft quarter!" Ramsey ordered. Another volley of disruptor fire caused an unoccupied console in a corner of the bridge to explode. "Pozel, roll the ship and invert us! Try to interpose our dorsal and port shields!"

The _Endurnace_ swung around on the opposite side of the _Vrah_ , rolling over as it did so, tipping its saucer section toward the larger ship, then fully inverting. All the while phaser beams lanced out from the Starfleet ship, pounding the Gorn ship's shields. The _Vrah_ , for its part returned fire with a fierce volley of disruptor beams, but the angry green beams were dispersed across the _Endurance_ 's shields as it rolled, rendering them ineffective.

Meanwhile the _Vindication_ and the _Philosopher_ came about in tight turns and flew straight at the Gorn battleship's aft side. They fired a fierce barrage of red-orange bolts from their phaser cannons, all targeting the starboard outrigger where the Gorn ship was already damaged. The more powerful blasts unleashed together in such quick succession tore through the battleship's armor, shredding it. The _Vindication_ then launched a pair of quantum torpedoes at almost point-blank range, blasting the starboard outrigger away from its thick pylon. The lights on the _Vrah_ flickered and went out as the mighty warship began to list to one side, heavily damaged. The two _Defiant_ -class escorts raced through the scattering debris of the battleship's starboard hull, victorious.

But an alert suddenly sounded on the bridge of the _Endurance_. "Sir, that subspace distortion we were tracking has changed course," said Josh. "It's almost on top of us!"

"Why didn't we detect it before?" asked Pozel.

"The _Vrah_ must have been jamming our long-range sensors," said Josh.

"I'm reading two distinct distortions, sir, each over a kilometer in length! Whatever they are, they're dropping out of warp!" Tazark warned. "The nearest distortion is only 300 kilometers away!"

"Full power to forward shields!" Ramsey ordered. "Have the _Vindication_ and _Philosopher_ form up on us!"

But before the order could be carried out, the starfield in front of the Starfleet squadron shimmered and distorted, finally coalescing into the shape of an enormous Klingon ship, nearly three times the size of the _Endurance_. The ship had a command section shaped like a rounded alligator's head which led back to a thick, armored neck and a bulbous body. Thick, angled wings swept down from the sides of the body to connect with heavily armored warp nacelles, and beneath the wings were a pair of cavernous landing bays.

"It's their dreadnought! The _IKS Vo'Quv_!" Tazark shouted.

"And if that's the _Vo'Quv_ , then the other one must be one of its sister-ships!" said Josh.

Before another word could be said, the _Vo'Quv_ opened fire. Blindingly bright disruptor beams lanced out at all three Federation ships. The _Vindication_ and _Philosopher_ lost their shields instantly. Explosions rocked their armored hulls. The _Philosopher_ managed to peel away, but the _Vindication_ was trapped as a blue-white tractor beam from the _Vo'Quv_ snared it, holding it in place for another pair of bright disruptor beams to rip through the _Vindication_ 's bow and blow the ship apart.

The _Endurance_ was similarly hammered by blows from the dreadnought's disruptor batteries. The bridge rocked violently and Josh fell to the deck as his console exploded. Sparks cascaded from the ceiling all around. "Forward shields are failing!" Tazark warned. "We can't take any more of this! And if the other dreadnought decloaks as well—"

There was no need to finish that statement. "Pozel, get us out of here! Now!" shouted Ramsey.

The Tellarite's hooved hands flew over the con, turning the ship around and sending them off at warp speed.

"They're not pursuing," Tazark said, the relief evident in his voice. "The _Philosopher_ and the _Caliburn_ are right behind us."

"At least the three of us got out alive!" said Pozel.

"Not all of us got out alive." Ramsey staggered over to where Lieutenant Joshua Walsh lay on the deck, near the shattered remains of the science station. From the shrapnel in his chest, he was clearly already gone, but Ramsey had to try anyway. He tapped his combadge. "Bridge to Sickbay! Medical emergency on the bridge! It's Lieutenant Walsh!" He turned away then and surveyed the battle-damaged bridge and his surviving officers. He thought of his surviving ships, a little over half of the squadron he'd had just this morning. "Pozel, get us to the rendezvous point in the N'Vak System, maximum warp." He turned to his Efrosian tactical officer. "Pass the word, Tazark, we're regrouping with the rest of the Ninth Fleet. If the Klingons have dreadnoughts in the area, there's no way we're facing them alone."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I hope you enjoyed that quick perspective switch to the _Sovereign_ -class _USS Endurance_ first introduced in my story "Airborne." As mentioned in "Survivors of Yamatai," the _Endurance_ will also be present in the upcoming Battle of Ganalda IV. This chapter lays some of the groundwork for that battle.

The _Sovereign_ -class is, of course, most famously the class of the _USS Enterprise-E_ from the Next Generation movies. In this story, I follow the classification of NPC starships used in _Star Trek Online_ (which is much more comprehensible than the breakdown of player starships in the same game) and call it a heavy cruiser.

 _Vindication_ and _Philosopher_ are both _Defiant_ -class ships, obviously based on the iconic and tough-but-agile _USS Defiant_ of DS9. The show makes it very clear that the _Defiant_ -class is an escort that practically flies like a fighter and punches well above her weight class, but it doesn't really say anything about maneuverability at warp speed. Because the _Defiant_ -class has such a unique arrangement with its close-tucked nacelles, I thought it probable that its warp manueverability was not as great as that of other ships, in particular the _Constitution_ -class, which in TOS "Elaan of Troyius" is said to be able to pivot at warp 2. The _Philosopher_ is also a shout-out to TheSonicGamer's _Defiant_ -class _USS Philosopher_ , which plays an important role in his story "Justice: Vengeance" which I highly recommend. Given that "Becoming Klingon" is set a full six years before "Vengeance," it very well could be the same ship. I've taken pains to preserve it.

The _Excalibur_ -class are new ships introduced by _Star Trek Online_ as possible skins for the tier 2 Federation cruisers or as possible low-level light-cruiser NPCs. I stuck with the convention established by the class name and named them after weapons, with the _Caliburn_ taking its name from the Welsh name for Excalibur, King Author's famous sword. The _Mjolnir_ takes its name from Thor's legendary hammer, which gets crushed partly to up the tension and partly as a tribute to the loss of Thor's Hammer in the recently released _Thor: Ragnarok_. Despite their warlike names, the lore describes these ships as primarily noteworthy as cargo ships and emergency transports, though some have been retrofitted for more combat-oriented roles.

The Federation strategy of faking a distress signal to lure an enemy ship into a cloaked ambush is based on similar tactics used by the _Defiant_ and the _Rotarran_ at the beginning of DS9: "Favor the Bold." I decided to include it because it is a clever tactic and is canonically used by the Federation in the Dominion War, but it's not without its moral pitfalls and would be a downright war crime under modern international law. The reasoning is simple: if you fake a distress call as a method to lure in and destroy enemy ships, then no one will know when you're actually in trouble and in need of assistance and when you're not. Enemy ships who are feeling merciful will therefore wind up steering clear of ships in actual need of rescue for fear of being mistaken for attackers rather than good Samaritans and blown to bits by an ambush. More worriedly, the enemy might conclude that any of your ships broadcasting a distress call are just treacherous tricksters rather than people in need of actual humanitarian aid and decide to blow them up as legitimate targets of war rather than rescuing them. All of this can end up getting a lot of your own people killed unnecessarily, though of course, that assumes that you're facing an enemy who's actually willing to honor a flag of truce and help a ship in distress in the first place, rather than one who sees even your surrendering or disabled ships as mere target practice.

The _Zilant_ -class is the Gorn NPC battleship class from _Star Trek Online_. The _Vrah_ is one of several NPC Gorn ships that can spawn during the various missions in the game, though in game its prefix is the Klingon fleet's IKS. I used the GHS (Gorn Hegemony Ship) registry available to players who purchase a Gorn playable starship. The target of the raid that Pozel mentions, Ardana, is the planet first seen in TOS: "The Cloud Minders"—an important mining world. The map on www . starttrekmaps .c om puts Ardana just one sector over from Ganalda on the Federation/Klingon border.

A note should be made about my use of quantum torpedoes here. In game and in cannon, both the _Sovereign_ and the _Defiant_ -class ships have quantum torpedoes, but they're otherwise an uncommon weapon type, with every other ship carrying photon torpedoes instead. But quantum torpedoes more than proved their worth during the Dominion War and are still fairly common in _Star Trek Online_. In keeping with portraying the main battle fleets of the early 25th century as a noticeable improvement on the ships of the Dominion War, I've chosen to make quantum torpedoes the stock weapons of all modern Federation starships. Klingons and Romulans, and other first-rate fleets will also use quantum torpedoes wherever available. Photon torpedoes, by 2408, are seen as the mark of either second-rate ships, or a second-rate navy. While the Gorn were said to be fairly powerful in the episodes of Star Trek where they're mentioned, they're obviously not as big of a military or political concern to the big three of the Romulans, Klingons, and Federation as the big three are to each other, indicating they're probably not a first-rate military power. After getting pounded into submission by the Klingon Empire just a few years ago, the Gorn fleet is in fairly sorry shape, and the _Vrah_ 's lack of quantum torpedoes or escorting ships clearly shows it.

The tactical display is based on a similar one seen in TNG: "The Wounded", but with the Federation starships represented by Starfleet insignia as seen in _Star Trek: Nemesis_ , which I think looks much nicer than just little white dots. The Gorn insignia is based on one on the Star Trek Online wiki.

The _IKS Vo'Quv_ is the prototype of the _Vo'Quv_ -class Klingon carrier-dreadnoughts and the personal flagship of High Chancellor J'mpok. According to Memory Beta, the _Vo'Quv_ and her sister-ships were first designed in anticipation of another war with the Federation, with the prototype _Vo'Quv_ herself first being completed in 2403 during the final days of the war with the Gorn. The _Vo'Quv_ -class ships are among the largest in the game, making up for their immense size and lack of manueverabilty with weapons systems designed to engage the enemy from any angle and tractor beams capable of holding targets in place for extended barrages (as the _Vindication_ found out). In game the massive size of these ships also makes them unable to cloak, but I downplayed this into a limitation with their cloaks not being able to fully conceal them, thus resulting in subspace distortions trackable at long ranges and necessitating that other ships jam enemy long range sensors in order to allow the dreadnoughts to effectively close the distance undetected and engage.


	14. Plans

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

 ** _Plans_**

* * *

IKS Ki'tang _, Year of Kahless 1032, Day 319, 06:55 Hours_

 _Nita of the House of Morath's Personal Log:_

 _It's been a struggle dealing with my medical isolation. I feel so helpless and alone, so ashamed for my failure. Despair comes easily, but I must not give up! Worse, though is the…longing. The irrepressible base desires and urges. I've always prided myself on my control, on being different than the Orion whores that B'kangder so hates. I've always kept my feelings in check…but these urges are so strong! I need something to distract me, some problem to focus on, or they'll drive me insane!_

* * *

Nita had trouble sleeping. She tried to blame it on the unfamiliar medical gown, with its various sensors held close to her skin. She would be much more comfortable in her old white tunic, but of course her cell offered no privacy and Paq would be enraged and probably refuse to give her any further care if she tried to pull off his medical sensors. There was also a more troubling reason why she couldn't let herself strip down: because a part of her desperately wanted to be naked for all the wrong reasons. There was a part of her, fueled by the pheromones her body was producing, which wanted nothing more than for her to run her hands over her bare flesh, or let someone else do it instead. It was like an itch she couldn't scratch, an insatiable need, a beast inside her refusing to be tamed, laughing at the efforts she'd taken throughout her training to repress it. It was hard to fight the desire, hard to keep her hands at her sides, hard not to wish that the forcefield would fail and one of the warriors on duty would come bursting in, driven wild with desire.

It was hard, but it was necessary. Nita had suffered enough humiliation in simply failing to complete the Second Rite of Ascension. It would take years of hard work to make up for that disgrace, if she ever did! She did not need to add the further dishonor of having been caught touching herself in her cell like a cheap Orion whore…even if a part of her mind darkly whispered to her that life as an Orion whore surely had its upsides.

Nita suppressed that thought ruthlessly as she heard the door to the brig open. A young Klingon man stepped in front of the forcefield sealing off her cell. He was tall, robust, and swarthy with black hair hanging unbound to his shoulders and a black goatee that had not completely filled in yet. Nita stood and tried to suppress the mental image of this young man with his arms around her, kissing her passionately on the neck. Instead she faced him squarely and said firmly, "Who are you?"

"I am K'Gan, son of Ker," said the young Klingon.

Nita noticed he wasn't wearing a _d'k tahg_ , and that his uniform was otherwise very plain. "You are not a warrior," she observed, curious.

"Not yet," said K'Gan. "My father forged _bat'leths_ , but had no holdings, no House of his own. He could not afford to give me a warrior's training or enter me into the Second Rite, but he taught me how to handle a blade. I _will_ be a warrior someday!"

Nita smiled and looked down, embarrassed by how touching she found his optimism, and how it gave her hope for her own situation. "Someday I too will be a warrior, K'Gan, son of Ker," she said. "I am Nita, daughter of a starship captain."

K'Gan eyed her curiously. "If your father commanded a warship, surely he could have gotten you through the Second Rite of Ascension."

Nita shook her head. "He's not here. He was with Starfleet, but that was before I was born. I've never met him. I have no idea whether or not he's alive."

K'Gan took a step back. "Starfleet!" He took a step back, then shook his head. "Things have certainly changed since the war began."

"They have," said Nita. "But my loyalty is with the House of Morath, and to the Empire! When I am well enough to leave this cell, I will continue to serve them until I am able to fight for them as a warrior."

K'Gan smiled. "Well said, Nita, daughter of a starship captain. Lieutenant Baduk is taking over for Ch'gran as he goes to assist Morath on the _Raqtal_. Baduk wanted me to go over these with you: plans and schematics for the _Ki'tang_ 's systems." He held out a pair of data pads.

"You're going to teach me to be an engineer?" she asked

K'Gan smiled and shook his head. "We will learn together! I only just came aboard myself a few days ago when Morath took on new crew for his ships." He punched a button on the control panel and the forcefield briefly vanished. K'Gan held out one pad and Nita quickly took it. He switched the forcefield back on again immediately, but evidently not quickly enough. He blinked and shook his head, looking a little unsteady on his feet.

Nita bit her lip, embarrassed. "I hope my pheromones didn't hit you too hard!"

K'Gan gave her a roguish smile. "They are strong…but not unpleasant."

Nita decided it would be best if they switched topics. "Right, so these plans…" She tapped her data pad. "I remember the access crawlways from when I was a girl, but I should refresh my memory, especially in regard to what systems can be accessed from each crawlway. I wasn't particularly concerned with that when I was a girl."

"Yes…let's start there," said K'Gan. He pulled up the crawlways on his data pad as well, though he looked somewhat distracted.

They spent the next two hours going over the schematics in detail. Nita refreshed her memory of how to navigate the bird-of-prey's crawlspaces and learned where the access points for the ship's various systems were. They were sitting cross-legged across from each other and were just starting into the layout of the ship's weapons systems when the door to the brig ground open.

K'Gan scrambled to his feet. "Lieutenant Doran!"

"As you were, engineer," Doran replied. She looked to Nita and turned back to K'Gan. "I would like a moment with her alone," she said.

K'Gan nodded. He tapped his data pad. "We'll continue this later," he said.

Nita smiled. "I look forward to it!"

K'Gan smiled as well, then turned and exited the room.

Nita watched him go, then turned to Doran. The Klingon woman was giving her a questioning look. "He's one of the new engineers," she explained. "He was just going over the _Ki'tang_ 's systems with me."

"I see," said Doran, though she did not seem entirely convinced that was all that was going on. She shook her head, though, dismissing the issue. "I came here to give you two things," she said. "The first is this." She drew a _mek'leth_ from behind her back. She flipped it around so the handle was facing Nita, then lowered the forcefield and held her breath while Nita took it.

"The blade I trained with," Nita said, turning it over in her hands, amazed

"Yes," Doran said, after she'd re-engaged the forcefield. "You may not yet be a warrior in the eyes of the Klingon Empire, but I will not leave you unarmed with the ship heading into combat. You've practiced with this blade since you were a child. No other weapon could be more truly yours."

Nita smiled, tears in her eyes. She wiped them away quickly and placed the _mek'leth_ reverently under her pillow. "Thank you, Doran," she said, turning back around.

"I'm not finished," said Doran. "The second thing I came to give you is this." She produced a data pad and punched a series of codes into it. Suddenly the schematics display that Nita had been looking at on her own data pad were replaced with a tactical projection of the Ganalda System.

Nita looked it over quickly. "The projected order of battle for the Ganalda System," she said, and read off the list. "The defense force is organized under the overall command of General Drex, son of Martok aboard the _Negh'Var_ -class battleship _IKS Rovlaq_ , with an Orion contingent under the command of Hassan the Undying on the _Slavemaster_ -class battleship _OSS Caju_ and a Gorn contingent under the command of Lieutenant-General Yanass on the _Zilant_ -class battleship _GHS Vrah_. Total forces: three battleships, five heavy cruisers, four cruisers, nine light cruisers, five frigates, two escorts, and six birds-of-prey." She scrolled through the lists of various classes. "Arrayed against the Federation's Ninth Fleet: estimated at three battleships, two battlecruisers, four heavy cruisers, twelve light cruisers, three frigates, eight escorts, and one transport." She looked up. "It looks like it's going to be a close fight, especially if Ganalda Station's defenses aren't very advanced. Is this so I know what I'm getting myself into?"

"Yes, but more than that, and the situation is more desperate than those figures reflect," said Doran. "To start, Ganalda Station's defenses are too weak to render any significant aid. They have not been updated since before the Dominion War and there is no time nor parts available to do it now. Also, since that list was compiled we've received a report that the Gorn battleship _Vrah_ was disabled en-route to the Ganalda System. Command of the Gorn division falls to Captain Trath of the _Phalanx_ -class cruiser _Zarassus_. That brings the defense fleet down to two battleships. More troublingly the Ninth Fleet has been recently reinforced. Scouting forces sent to the N'Vak System report the arrival of a Federation dreadnought and two additional battleships."

Nita straightened, feeling an edge of fear in her stomach. "With an advantage in numbers and tonnage, this will be a very difficult battle indeed!" Even in a simulation, she wasn't sure she could hope to do much more the inflict heavy losses on the enemy fleet—at the cost of the station and most friendly forces.

Doran nodded. "High Chancellor J'mpok himself is leading a relief force consisting of the dreadnoughts _Vo'Quv_ and _Chang_ , but their cloaks are not powerful enough to fully conceal them. The Federation fleet will detect them and redeploy their forces or call for further reinforcements unless we jam their long-range sensors. That is the role that the _IKS Raqtal_ , the Orion ship _Tabedi_ , and the Gorn ship _Zarassus_ have been assigned by General Drex. With their escorting ships, they will jam the Federation fleet's aft long-range sensors, under the cover of making flank attacks on the Ninth Fleet." She punched another button on her pad and three groups of ships from the defense forces' order of battle were highlighted. "The _Raqtal_ has been assigned two _Karmag_ -class cruisers, one original-configuration _K't'inga_ -class light cruiser, two _Norgh_ -class birds-of-prey, and two _B'rel_ -clas birds-of-prey—including the _Ki'tang_."

Nita looked over the details on her pad. "That's not enough for a successful flank attack on a force of this size," she said. "Their frigates, escorts, and light cruisers will be able to hold off our attack while their heavy cruisers and battlecruisers tear our ships to ribbons!"

Doran nodded. "True. The odds that our flank attack will succeed or even survive for long are negligible. However, we need only hold out and continue jamming their sensors long enough for J'mpok's relief force to arrive."

Nita looked up and met Doran's gaze. "Why are you showing me all this? I'm not a warrior. Not yet anyway. Jurlek would say I have no right to see any of this."

"Jurlek does not need to know," Doran said firmly. "And while you may not be a warrior in the eyes of the Klingon Empire, you are in my eyes. What's more, you are the highest scoring applicant on the space tactical portion of the Klingon Academy entrance exam in the past five years. I want you to look over this information, study it, and determine the best way to array our flank attack. I will present your recommendations to Morath directly, in private. He knows your record as well as I do. He will not ignore your advice. It will help us secure the victory we and the Empire need, and it will help you secure your place as a warrior in the eyes of every Klingon!"

Nita smiled at that, then frowned, turning back to the tactical data. It was not going to be an easy problem to solve. Even with the need to hold out only long enough for the relief force to arrive, they were going to suffer heavy losses. "I'll take a look," she promised.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I wanted to establish in passing here Nita's rocky relationship with the stereotypical image of the Orion seductress, and how that has, in turn caused her to overcompensate a bit and wind up at odds with her own sexuality. I hope I portrayed that tastefully enough.

Moving on, K'Gan son of Ker is a character from _Star Trek Online_. He acts as third officer during the Klingon tutorial, becoming the player character's second in command and first tactical bridge officer. His age and background aren't established by the game, and no other sources mention either K'Gan or his father. His position as third officer, according to the _Klingon Bird-of-Prey Owner's Workshop Manual_ , makes him a command officer in training, which would probably make him on the younger side. I took the liberty of making him a young aspiring Klingon from a poor background so that Nita would have someone to relate to. Because most of the non-warrior positions on a bird-of-prey are engineers, I made him a young engineer's mate, taken on to help deal with the huge surge in manpower Morath would need to crew the 200-warrior _Raqtal_ and the 36-warrior _Ki'tang_.

Here's the first preview of the kinds of forces and tactics soon to come in the Battle of Ganalda IV. One thing will be immediately apparent to anyone even passingly good at math, and that's that the total number of ships involved in what is supposed to be a large, important fleet action is absolutely dwarfed by the massive numbers of ships involved in battles during the Dominion War. Operation Return, for instance, featured a Federation fleet of over 600 ships, outnumbered two-to-one by a massive Dominion-Cardassian armada. The Second Battle of Chin'toka involved the loss of 311 Federation, Romulan, and Klingon ships. But all sides and fleets in the Battle of Galanda IV have combined forces of less than 80 ships. This is a massive reduction in the scale of warfare!

In universe, I can give several reasons to justify this. The first is that the Dominion War was a devastating bloodbath, a meat-grinder that chewed up everyone's military powers, and the combatants of the early 25th Century are still recovering to an extent from the devastation. To some extent, they're simply unable to wage war on that scale again, something backed up, I think by the fact that the majority of ships portrayed and lost in the Dominion war were older designs like the _Miranda_ -class and _Excelsior_ -class, and the _B'rel_ -class on the Klingon side (even though there was talk of those ships supposedly being phased out in favor of the _K'vort_ -class back in TNG). These older ships had been around for half a century or more and it had taken a huge amount of time for the various sides to amass their fleets, only to have the crushed in the enormous battles of the Dominion War. Beyond being incapable of fielding such fleets again, 25th Century military commanders probably just aren't willing to. Again, most of these fleets were older designs, produced and slaughtered in mass. While this kind of starship gore makes for exciting viewing, the human (or alien) toll of a quantity-over-quality war of attrition would have been a terrible lesson to all the powers involved. This accounts for the massive increase in the number of innovative designs on the front lines of 25th Century war, as well as the retirement of older designs to less active roles (as I've mentioned with the _Miranda_ -class _USS Nautilus_ ). The new order of the day is quality-over-quantity, and a doctrine of smaller more advanced fleets is the prevailing notion of 25th Century naval theory. In addition, while the capture or defense of Ganalda IV is extremely important to both sides, it is not, perhaps, the _most_ important (Qo'noS for instance, isn't that far from the front lines and would be more important to defend or capture) and both the Klingon Empire and their allies and the Federation have vast territories to patrol and defend, and also have many interests to pursue outside their boarders besides their war with each other (such as helping or raiding the struggling Romulans).

Out of universe, this number is more consistent with the numbers of ships that players will see on either side during the major battles of the story missions. More to the point, I just didn't want to write that big of a battle. Thirty-some ships to a side is still fairly big, but it can be broken down into smaller groups and squadrons to portray the action in a way that's fairly easy to understand. 600 ships verses 1200 is much more abstract. DS9 couldn't even portray anywhere close to that many ships on screen! We hear a lot of characters talk about the importance of staying in or breaking up formations, about how various "wings" of starships are doing well or poorly, but what all of that really _means_ is hard to imagine (how many ships are in a wing anyway?). Also with numbers that huge, it's hard to imagine how a single ship (unless fully plated in several meters of plot armor) could make much of difference. With fleet sizes as small as the ones I'm using here, though, it's much more plausible. Even without the idea of giving a single ship a special strategic function, like I've given the _Raqtal_ , even rank-and-file ships like the _Ki'tang_ can matter. After all, if the Klingons lost a bird-of-prey in Operation return, it meant basically nothing. There were countless more where that came from! But at Galanda IV, if the Klingons lose the _Ki'tang_ , even though it's just one bird-of-prey (and not a very good one at that), that means they've just lost 1/6 th of their total birds-of-prey, and 1/12 of the ships they need to screen their larger warships against enemy escorts. It's much easier to see how a single ship or even a single character can have an impact, which—combined with the better comprehensibility of the battle—makes small fleet actions _more_ dramatic than massive engagements, not less, in my opinion.

But I digress! On to the references! Drex, son of Martok, is...well, Drex, son of Martok, who briefly appeared a couple of times in DS9—first and most notably in "Way of the Warrior" where Worf met and casually disarmed Drex in order to get the attention of his more notable father, General Martok. In non-canon sources, Drex is portrayed as lacking his father's honor and not being on the best of terms with him, though his kinder treatment in _Star Trek Online_ (where he is head of the honorable House of Martok and advised by Worf) seems to indicate that he has improved since his early years. He was also severely injured by the current High Chancellor J'mpok in 2393 while attempting to avenge his father's death the injury took him at least a year to heal. This led to an uneasy truce between the more positionally powerful House of J'mpok (which, after all, holds the High Chancellorship and many favorable alliances), and the superior military of the House of Martok (which _The Path to 2409_ says could have crushed the House of J'mpok in an open conflict in 2394). It should be considered to be no accident that Drex and his House were tasked with playing the dangerous role of the defense fleet at the Battle of Ganalda IV and the House of J'mpok appointed themselves rescuers. It's a calculated move to weaken the House of Martok by attrition during the battle, while scoring political points by appearing to come to their rescue in a time of need. Of course Drex has some wise councilors on his side, so it can be taken for granted that he did not commit the entirety of his House's forces to the fight here, and with Klingon honor and society being what it is, it is possible that Drex may end up winning more glory from the battle then J'mpok.

Drex's ship is the _IKS Rovlaq_ , which is a name pulled from the _Vor'cha_ -class cruiser that Drex commanded in the Star Trek Destiny novel _A Singular Destiny_. Here I made it a _Negh'Var_ -class: the largest pre- _Bortas'_ -class ship design in the Klingon fleet short of the massive _Vo'Quv_ -class dreadnoughts. Pre- _Bortas'_ -class being important because the missions of _Star Trek Online_ make it clear that the _Bortas_ ' or _Bortasqu'_ class dreadnoughts are designs first fielded in 2409. The _Negh'Var_ -class, of course, was first seen in 2372, where the massive battleship served as Chancellor Gorkon's flagship before being mass produced in the Dominion War.

Hassan the Undying is an Orion Syndicate kingpin who was instrumental in current Syndicate head Melani D'ian's rise to power, and even in exile in 2409 remained powerful enough to command a sizable fleet. Whether he was sent to the Battle of Galanda IV as a favor or a punishment is open to interpretation, as is most of Orion politics. The _Slavemaster_ -class battleship is one of the older large Orion NPC ship designs still occasionally seen in game in _Star Trek Online_. It's name, the _OSS Caju_ comes from the Orion page on Memory Beta, which says that _Caju_ is the Orion plural word for the "great families" or criminal cartels that rule Orion society.

The _Phalanx_ -class cruiser is the _Phalanx_ -class Gorn science cruiser, which is a perfectly serviceable player ship and NPC support ship, but not exactly first pick for a flagship in a starship slugging contest. The _Karmag_ -class cruisers are ships added in _Star Trek Online_ as modernized versions of an abandoned past warship design, and thus tougher than the un-refit _K't'inga_ -class, but not quite as tough as the drastically-reworked _Raqtal_.


	15. The Ninth Fleet

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

 ** _The Ninth Fleet_**

* * *

 _Captain's Log, USS Endurance, Stardate 81631.0_

 _We've made it back to the Ninth Fleet's staging area in the captured N'Vak System without any further incident. No sign of pursuit by the Klingons or their allies. The dreadnought that attacked us, the_ Vo'Quv _, is still out there though no doubt ready to defend the Ganalda System. The Ninth Fleet has received some impressive reinforcements during the last few days, including the_ USS Odin _, one of those massive Starfleet carrier ships they built just after the Dominion War. Still, I'm not sure it will be enough to overcome the resistance we'll be facing. I'm going to a conference aboard the_ Odin _now, to discuss my concerns with Admiral Vorix. I'm having to take a shuttle because the damage the_ Endurance _sustained knocked out its transporters, but that gives me more time to organize my thoughts. I'm certainly going to need it!_

* * *

Captain Nathaniel Ramsey shifted in his seat in the cockpit of the shuttle. Chief Sorna and his team of engineers were still working to repair the battle damage the _Endurance_ had sustained in yesterday's battle against the Gorn battleship and Klingon dreadnought, and they hadn't been able to fix the transporters yet. That meant taking a shuttle to visit the Ninth Fleet's flagship and talk to Admiral Vorix, but it was a very small price to pay and Ramsey didn't mind. It gave him some time to think as he surveyed the Federation fleet gathered in the N'Vak System through the cockpit windows.

Formerly a well-defended Klingon colony, the N'Vak System now played host to the Federation's Ninth Fleet, gathered here for Operation Spearhead—a thrust into the vital infrastructure that supported the Klingon war effort. Ramsey counted over thirty ships. Some were smaller ships, like the _Excalibur_ -class _Caliburn_ or the similar, but better protected, _Vesper_ -class light cruisers. But there were many larger ships. He spotted the distinctive shapes of an _Envoy_ -class and _Guardian_ -class heavy cruisers, each of them an updated version of the _Galaxy_ -class ship's spaceframe. There was also another _Sovereign_ -class ship, the _USS Claudius_. There was even one of those new, impressive _Chimera_ -class ships, the _USS Manticore_ , which had served as the Ninth Fleet's flagship during much of the operation. But all of these were dwarfed by the three new arrivals: two _Typhoon_ -class ships with their thick, sturdy saucer sections, and then, far larger than even them, the new flagship of the fleet—the _USS Odin_. The _Odin_ was a _Jupiter_ -class carrier, and it was the closest thing to a true dreadnought Starfleet had ever built. It was one-and-a-half kilometers long. The saucer section alone was 300 meters thick—as thick as the _Caliburn_ 's total length from stem to stern. Beneath it was an equally thick secondary hull, tapering somewhat to toward the aft end where it gave way to thick pylons connecting the secondary hull to the saucer section and the ship's four massive nacelles—each of which was as long as the _Endurance_ itself!

Ramsey had never seen a _Jupiter_ -class starship this close before, nor had he ever seen one in battle. The _Jupiter_ -class had been designed in the Dominion War as the Federation's answer to the Jem'Hadar dreadnought carriers, but had not been completed in time to see action. The present war with the Klingons was the first real test of the ship's combat capabilities, and while it looked impressive, Ramsey could not help but wonder how it would really measure up. It was larger than the _Vo'Quv_ -class, to be sure, but the Klingon dreadnought was also a pure warship, with no need to support modular design features or non-combat facilities. Ramsey wondered if the increased size of the _USS Odin_ would really give it the edge it needed over a single _Vo'Quv_ -class dreadnought, but against two he knew it would just make the ship a bigger target.

Ramsey's shuttle approached the aft end of the _Odin_ 's saucer section and passed through the massive doors into the main hanger bay. The bay was huge, its interior stretched almost out of sight, crowded with several squadrons of _Peregrine_ -class fighters and a wide variety of shuttles and runabouts. Dominating the center of the bay were a pair of _Callisto_ -class light escorts, ready for launch. The _Callisto_ -class was another untested innovation, like the _Odin_ itself. With their oversized nacelles joined to their main hull by a graceful wing, they were as fast and maneuverable as a _Defiant_ -class and armed just as well, but their undersized main hull meant they lacked the space for defensive systems and could not sustain the power requirements of combat for long, and could not cloak at all. Still, they made a potent addition to the Odin's complement of strike craft.

Ramsey's shuttle set down with a gentle thump. He rose from his seat, patting Lieutenant Pozel on the shoulder as she powered the engines down. He made his way back to the aft cabin just in time to see the boarding ramp lower.

A young Benzite Ensign in a red uniform stood outside waiting for him. "Admiral Vorix and the others are waiting for you in Conference Room Four, sir," the ensign said. "If you'll follow me."

The young ensign led Ramsey to the side of the hanger bay, past several crowds of engineers and pilots bustling to and fro around their strike craft, preparing them for battle. The Benzite led him into a turbolift and when the door closed behind them he ordered, "Computer, Deck 58: Conference Room Four."

The computer chimed and the turbolift sped off. Ramsey could feel the acceleration in his stomach for several seconds. Even so, it took well over a minute for the turbolift to reach its destination. When the doors opened, the ensign pointed down the hall. "It's the first door on your left, sir," he said.

Ramsey left the turbolift and entered the conference room. It was a long room, bordered by windows all along one side, looking out over the gathered fleet. The room was dominated by a long table at which there were chairs for all thirty-eight of the commanding officers of the Ninth Fleet, plus one at the head of the table for Admiral Vorix. At present, three of the chairs were empty. Ramsey lowered his eyes as he remembered why two of them would never be filled again. He took his seat in one of the remaining chairs.

"Ah, Captain Ramsey," said Vorix, straightening his uniform. "We were just discussing the repairs to your squadron. I trust the _Endurance_ will be in fighting shape soon enough?"

Ramsey nodded. "Transporters are still offline and my chief engineer is still having trouble getting the dorsal shield grid up to full power, but we'll be ready to for action within twelve hours," he said.

"It is good to hear you'll be able to join us," Vorix said. "Unfortunately, Commander Var'Shon will not be able to do the same." He nodded to the Andorian commanding officer of the _Philosopher_.

Ramsey gave the blue-skinned Andorian a questioning look. "It was my understanding that the _Philosopher_ 's forward weapons systems could be brought back online within two days, especially with the facilities of the _Odin_ to act as a substitute dry-dock."

"There is not enough time for that," said Vorix. "Your encounter with the Gorn battleship proves that the Klingons are building up a force at Ganalda to challenge us and block our ultimate objective. If Operation Spearhead is to succeed, we must strike immediately. We cannot afford any delay."

"I'll take my ship back to Starbase 118 for full repairs and to off-load casualties," said Var'Shon. "I'll be back in action in time to help you mop up resistance in the Archanis Sector."

Vorix nodded his approval.

Ramsey was still confused. "Admiral, sir, why are we attacking now? The Klingons have two dreadnoughts out there. We saw them! We should wait for reinforcements."

Vorix shook his head. "The nearest available forces are the Third Fleet. Redirecting them would take a week and leave Starbase 212 vulnerable. We cannot afford the delay. The longer we wait, the more reinforcements the Ganalda System will receive."

"But, sir, the dreadnoughts—"

" _Dreadnought_ , singular," Vorix corrected. "The only ship you and your crew were able to positively identify was the _IKS Vo'Quv_."

"Yes, but we saw the subspace distortion of another ship," Ramsey insisted.

"The readings were inconclusive, and did not show up on the _Philosopher_ 's sensors," said Vorix.

Ramsey looked to Var'Shon, and the Andorian commander shrugged.

"Even if there were two Klingon dreadnoughts, we would not need to concern ourselves with them," said Vorix. "Starfleet Intelligence has determined that the defense fleet at Ganalda is under the command of General Drex of the House of Martok. The defense force consists solely of Klingon vassals and the ships and allies of the House of Martok. They have also determined that neither the House of Martok nor any of their allied Houses have access to the new _Vo'Quv_ -class dreadnoughts. These are exclusively held by the House of J'mpok and their allies, and the _IKS Vo'Quv_ itself is his personal flagship. Furthermore, J'mpok and Drex are enemies, engaged in a primitive blood feud. Therefore, we can be certain that neither the _Vo'Quv_ nor any of the other Klingon dreadnoughts will be present when we arrive at the Ganalda System."

Ramsey stared. "You can't be serious," he said at last.

Vorix cocked an eyebrow, as if the very suggestion that he could ever be anything less than totally serious was absurd.

"Admiral, you can't really believe that the Klingons will let a petty blood feud cost them one of the most important shipyards in their Empire, and the entire sector with it," said Ramsey. "They're not idiots!"

"I think you overestimate the Klingons," Vorix said coolly. "Idiots, as you say, is precisely what they are. They started a five-year war with the Gorn Hegemony. Then, having absorbed the Gorn as a vassal state, its infrastructure still severely damaged—as was their own—, they immediately declared war on the Federation: their most powerful remaining neighbor. It is a war they cannot possibly hope to win, a war we are writing the final chapters to. The Klingon Empire is on the brink of collapse, Captain, and it is because the Klingons lack the ideal that gives us our strength." Vorix waved his hand over the assembled commanding officers. "We here represent more than dozen species from over twenty worlds. We represent the ideals of the Federation, what my people refer to as _Kul-Ut-Shan_ , and yours as diversity and unity. The Klingons cannot grasp this ideal. They have no concept of it. Their vassals stand beside them only because they have no other choice. Their own species is hopelessly divided, constantly fighting among its petty Houses. They are irrational, emotional, and utterly unreasonable, and it is this weakness we will exploit. It is this weakness that will be their downfall in the Ganalda System, when General Drex will face our forces alone and High Chancellor J'mpok will refuse to come to his aid."

Ramsey was speechless. He stood and looked around the room, unable to believe that anyone could think so little of the Klingons, but around the room he saw agreement, or at least consent, written on the faces of all the other commanding officers gathered there. "This is madness," Ramsey said, hoping some of them would listen. "I served with Klingons in the Dominion War. I saw them just two years ago, risk their own lives—in a way—to stop a plague from wiping out the Alpha Quadrant. They're not like this!"

"The decision is made, Captain Ramsey," Admiral Vorix said sharply. "If you cannot abide by it and follow your orders, then logically I will be forced to relieve you of your command."

Ramsey set is jaw. _I'm not going to do anyone any good if I get myself removed from command of the_ Endurance, he told himself. His ship and his crew would need him, now more than ever, if they were going to Ganalda. He sat down slowly. "That won't be necessary, Admiral," he said. "I will follow orders."

"Good," said Admiral Vorix. "All commanding officers are to return to their ships at once," he said. "We depart for the Ganalda System for our final assault in two hours."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** The N'Vak System in _Star Trek Online_ plays host to the Klingon PvEvP warzone after having been taken over by the Borg. However since the Borg incursion hasn't occurred yet and the Federation have pushed deep into Klingon space, I had the Federation use it as a staging area. _Star Trek Online_ places it in the Gorath Sector, which is on the opposite side of Qo'noS from Ganalda, but I went with the Star Trek map.c om placement which puts it in the Archanis Sector not far from Galanda.

The _Vesper_ -class is another skin of the Federation Tier 2 light cruiser, very similar to the _Excalibur_ -class. Unlike the _Excalibur_ -class it does not have the backstory of being mainly a fast cargo ship, meaning it's more likely to be a dedicated light cruiser than an improvised one.

The _Envoy_ -class and _Guardian_ -class are, as Ramsey notes, variations on the _Galaxy_ -class spaceframe of the famous _USS Enterprise-D_ in TNG. The difference between them is that the _Envoy_ -class is a skin available for Tier 4 ships, whereas the _Guardian_ -class is only for Tier 6 ships, which makes it the more powerful and modern of the two. I classed both as heavy cruisers, though, to keep things simple.

There have been a number of sovereigns for which the _USS Claudius_ could have been named. Most notably the Roman Emperor Claudius, and the fictional King Claudius of _Hamlet_.

The _Chimera_ -class ships are the multi-mode Federation ships, called "heavy destroyers" in the game, though this makes very little sense. In modern naval convention, a destroyer (named for their original role as "torpedo-boat destroyers") is a ship smaller than a light cruiser and suitable mainly as an escort for convoys or larger warships. The _Chimera_ -class is clearly too large and impressive for such a role, so I went with the classification of its NPC version, which designates it as a battleship.

 _Typhoon_ -class ships were the original NPC battleships of _Star Trek Online_ , though they've mostly been phased out in favor of newer designs.

The _Jupiter_ -class _USS Odin_ is named for the head of the Norse pantheon and based off of the design of the original NPC Federation dreadnought. Though a new _Jupiter_ -class carrier which is much smaller and looks nothing like the original _Jupiter_ -class has largely replaced it in game, the original _Jupiter_ -class can make appearances in some missions and still appears as by far the largest vessel in the size charts on the wiki.

 _Peregrine_ -class fighters are the unnamed Maquis fighters seen in the TNG "Preemptive Strike" and DS9's "The Maquis Part II" as well as the Federation fighters used in the big battle of Operation Return in DS9's "Sacrifice of Angels." They're identified as _Peregrine_ -class in _Star Trek Online_ and many other non-canon sources. I admit that the fact the Federation is still using fighters that date back to at least 2370 is a little odd, but there aren't really a lot of options for fighters in the game, and I suppose fighters could have been one of the underdeveloped areas of post-Dominion War ship building since they exemplify quantity-over-quality, an approach that's the opposite of what the Federation wanted to employ after the war.

The _Callisto_ -class light escorts are the unique carrier pets of the new _Jupiter_ -class playable carriers in _Star Trek Online_. I decided to give a pair of them to the old _Jupiter_ -class as well.

Here the _Philosopher_ has a different commanding officer than in TheSonicGamer's story, but in the six years between this story and his it's likely that the original commanding officer was transferred, promoted, or killed.

 _Kul-Ut-Shan_ is Vulcan for Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. Overall, the Federation is very diversity-focused and it would be easy to see some members within it take a stance of moral and intellectual superiority based on this diversity. After all, the diversity has helped the Federation and is a source of strength for it. From their perspective, it would be easy to see the Klingons near constant state of civil war as a severe liability and overestimate how weak that makes them. And while it is true that constant internal strife is a problem for the Klingons, it's also part of a warrior culture's way of forcing the best warriors to the top of society in a sort of bloody meritocracy. And for all their infighting, the Klingons have proven time and again that they will always unite against an outside threat.


	16. Before Battle

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

 _ **Before Battle**_

* * *

 _IKS_ Ki'tang _, Year of Kahless 1032, Day 321, 07:15 hours_

 _Nita of the House of Morath's personal log:_

 _It's been three days since I failed the Second Rite of Ascension: three days of medical isolation. But I'm coping well enough, thanks to K'Gan's visits. I can't deny my feelings for him, though probably it's just the pheromones. In any case, I'm eager to join him in engineering, even though I'm not sure I'll be much good at it. I spent my life training as a warrior, as a tactician. The task Doran left me of puzzling out an ideal attack plan for the_ Roqtal _is easy for me, compared to figuring out where all the systems on this bird-of-prey are and how the interact! Hopefully Doran is right and my time in engineering is short. I know the battle is approaching. I hope it brings with it an opportunity to win honor as a warrior!_

* * *

"Alright, help me understand this," Nita said, showing the technical schematic on her data pad to K'Gan, who was seated cross-legged on the floor with her, just on the other side of the forcefield. "Baduk's notes say it should be possible to route warp power directly to the disruptor cannons for fifteen seconds at least, but every time I try to simulate it, the whole system blows out."

K'Gan studied the diagram intently, then pointed. "There, that's the problem," he said. "The primary EPS conduits on Deck 4 leading out of Main Engineering, by the doors. They're some of the oldest and most poorly shielded on the ship. They'll burst under that kind of strain, and kill anyone standing in front of them too! Try rerouting through the secondary conduits on Deck 5, starboard side."

Nita entered the change into the simulation. The power transfer completed successfully. She smiled. "You have a knack for this," she said.

K'Gan shrugged. "It's not so difficult, once you get used to it." He pointed to her data pad. "Now the other puzzle you were working on when I came in: _that_ looked difficult!"

"This?" Nita asked, pulling up the tactical analysis. The data pad's tiny holographic projection showed the faint outlines of icons representing the different ships in the Federation and Klingon fleets fighting a simulated battle over Ganalda IV. "This is easy," she said. "At least, relatively so. It's all move and counter-move, action and reaction, like a duel or a game of _klin zha_. The Federation builds its ships with torpedoes on the engineering hull, with these big saucer sections with most of the phaser arrays on them over the top. The saucer section blocks the torpedoes from above, and the engineering hull and nacelles block phasers from the aft quarter, so the ideal attack on Federation ships is from above or behind. They see that coming, so they'll face you and move up, try to get above you so they can unleash all their weapons at once. So, you have to try to climb above them while they're distracted. Climbing makes you vulnerable because you can't bring many of your weapons to bear, you're a bigger target, and some of a Klingon ship's thinnest armor is on the underside. So, you need a really good distraction. Cruisers hit harder, they're the most important to get into position. Birds-of-prey keep the enemy busy and are hard to hit, that makes them your distraction. You attack with birds-of-prey while you climb. The enemy counters with their escorts…and hopefully your birds-of-prey can get past them and engage their cruisers long enough to keep them busy till you're ready to dive on them with your cruisers…" She shrugged. "It's pretty basic."

"Basic?" K'Gan laughed. "Remind me never to play _klin zha_ against you!"

"Well, it's more basic than this!" Nita said, switching back to the schematics. "Engineering is like some kind of fractal pattern. The closer you look, the more complicated it gets, and one feature effects another effects another…" She shook her head. "I don't know if I'll ever understand all this!"

K'Gan smiled. "I believe you will!"

Just then Paq entered the brig, moving quickly and carrying an equipment case. He pulled his respirator on one-handed. "Out of my way, you love-sick _petaQ_!" he said to K'Gan.

K'Gan bared his teeth at the insult, but the old surgeon was a warrior and he was not. He rose and gave a parting nod to Nita. "We'll continue this later," he said. She nodded and he left the room.

"Enjoying some extra attention from the young men, I see," Paq remarked, deactivating the forcefield long enough to step inside.

Nita jumped to her feet and bunched her fists. "K'Gan is helping me prepare to serve in engineering," she said. "It's not like that!"

Paq huffed into his white beard. "With as many hormones and pheromones as you've got going through your system, it best be at least partially like that! You haven't taken interest in a single individual like that since we rescued you off of that Orion transport. I was beginning to think you lacked a pulse." He ran his scanner over her. "The swelling's gone. The suppressant's been almost totally cleared from your system. We should still give your pheromones another eighteen hours at least to reach equilibrium."

Then the lights flickered and a chill ran through Nita. Paq seemed to feel it as well. He looked up. "We're running out of time," he said, and frowned. "That was the _Ki'tang_ engaging its cloak. If we've been forced to cloak, then the Federation fleet is near. I need to get back to the medical bay."

"What about me? I have to get to Engineering!"

"You're not going anywhere, not yet," said Paq. He started to go, then paused. He turned back to her and handed her a piece of medical equipment.

She looked down at it, and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw what it was. "My pheromone masker."

"Use it if you have to…but _only_ if you have to!" He pressed a key on his datapad, lowering the forcefield remotely till he'd stepped through, then restoring it. "Stay here and recover if you can," he said in parting. "Live to fight another battle!" Then he was gone, hurrying out into the corridor.

Nita was left alone, staring at the simulated battle on her data pad, holding the pheromone masker in her hands. Time to put my simulation to the test! Her stomach tightened with anticipation. The real battle was about to begin!

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Just a quick chapter her to get everything ready for the big battle!

Routing warp power to weapons isn't mentioned in Star Trek lore, but in the TNG episode "Hero Worship" routing warp power to shields is used as a last-ditch way to give them a short term radical increase in power. I imagine routing warp power to weapons would work much the same, and might be a necessary measure for an aging and otherwise under-powered bird-of-prey like the _Ki'tang_.


	17. The Opening Volley

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

 ** _The Opening Volley_**

* * *

 _Admiral Vorix's Log,_ USS Odin _, Ninth Fleet, Stardate 81633.43_  
 _We have arrived at our destination, the final objective of Operation Spearhead: Ganalda Station. The capture of this crucial ship-building facility will mark the definitive turning point in the current war with the Klingon Empire. The Klingons cannot continue their fight without ships, and their vassals will not defend them once the backbone of their infrastructure and their fleet has collapsed. We know that the Klingons have a significant defense force gathered at Ganalda, but they are no match for us. We are strong, united, and equipped with larger and more advanced vessels. We will prevail. There is simply no other rational outcome._

* * *

Ganalda IV appeared deceptively serene, orbiting slowly around its bright binary stars. The planet was circled by a rocky ring, and a green haze tinged its atmosphere partially obscuring the orange surface below. It was a miserable planet by most accounts, rocky, dominated by deserts, prone to meteor impacts, and too hot for most species to bother with. But the planet also had a wealth of minerals, and that had made it valuable enough to be the site of numerous battles over the years. Now it awaited its latest battle. Above its night side hung Ganalda Station, the object of this latest conflict. The dun-colored station consisted of a thick central cylinder that branched into three small flat arms at the top that consisted of various radiator and sensor arrays paired with docking clamps for vessels of various sizes and three large arms that were identical to the smaller ones, save for the addition of bulbous armored sections containing the internal drydocks closer to the central cylinder. There was no civilian traffic by the station, and no ships docked there now. Instead a defense fleet had formed up in a rough wall formation between the station and the endless night of deep space. There were the dark green bulbous shapes of Orion warships and carriers—eleven ships in total—and opposite them the pale yellow and blocky hulls of five Gorn ships. Between these fleets was an obvious, uneven gap, seemingly leading straight to Ganalda Station.

Suddenly the starscape opposite the defense fleet burst with dozens of bright flashes of light. Thirty-three silver ships with the distinctive nacelles and saucers of Starfleet dropped out of warp, forming a much more imposing wall formation of their own, centered on the massive dreadnought _Odin_ , which was itself larger than any of Ganalda Station's arms and dwarfed every other ship present.

On the bridge of the _Odin_ , Admiral Vorix sat in the center seat, his hands folded meditatively in front of him while the chatter of the bridge crew preparing for battle washed over him. Finally, the Arbazan communications officer addressed him directly. "Admiral, all ships are reporting in. The transport is in position and right behind us."

"Excellent," Vorix said. The transport was the keystone to his strategy. It carried over a thousand personnel armed and armored for shipboard combat—all that could be spared from the group that had secured the Klingon colony on N'Vak and neutralized the ground defenses. With those troops, he could capture the Klingon shipyards and any disabled vessels intact, allowing Starfleet to collect intelligence on the new and improved Klingon ship designs and better combat them on the final push toward Qo'noS. "Status report on the station," he prompted.

"Their defenses haven't been upgraded, just as Starfleet Intelligence predicted," said the Rigelian tactical officer. "Their weapons don't pose much of a threat to our larger ships, and their shields won't hold up under a sustained bombardment."

"And the defense fleet?" he prompted.

"Orion and Gorn ships only," reported the Rigelian. "We outnumber them two to one, and there's a gap in the center of their line—a big one. We could go straight through them, right at the Station."

"I suspect they want us to try," Vorix remarked. He knew better than to think that the Klingon Empire's vassals would stand guard over Ganalda IV if their masters were not nearby. "It's a trap," he said, with calm certainty. "Where are the Klingon vessels?"

"They must be cloaked," remarked the Kasheeta science officer. "I'm detecting residual subspace signatures in the gap in between the Orion and Gorn lines. I can't tell how many ships, or what type, or get a target lock, but there's definitely something there!"

"Let's reveal them," said Vorix. "Launch the first wave of fighters and send them to the gap in the line. Have them set up a tachyon detection grid between their vessels. That will reveal the Klingons' positions, and true strength."

"Aye, sir!" said the male Deltan fighter wing coordinator. Two squadrons of sleek _Peregrine_ -class fighters streaked out from the _Odin_ , forming up in an open hexagonal lattice formation. Blue-white beams of tachyon energy laced between the ships, connecting them into a large grid, a grid flying straight for the gap where the Klingons were surely waiting!

"Admiral, the Orions are launching interceptors," warned the tactical officer. "Four squadrons! They outnumber our fighters two to one, and they're not pulling their punches!"

The slim green-winged Orion Interceptors swarmed out to meet the Federation fighters, firing green disruptor blasts as they came. The Federation fighters returned fire with red-orange beams of phaser fire, but it was only a matter of time before they began to be overwhelmed.

"Launch a second wave immediately, two more squadrons," said Vorix. Even as the fighters streaked out, he knew it would not be enough. The Ninth Fleet had only one carrier: the _Odin_ , but the Orions had several. "Have our escorts engage the enemy squadrons as well, but keep the _Saber_ -class and _Callisto_ -class ships in reserve," he instructed. The _Saber_ -class escorts were not as maneuverable as the _Defiant_ , _Valiant_ , or _Gallant_ -class ships that made up the rest of the Ninth Fleet's escorts—and the _Callisto_ -class ships' limited endurance made them more valuable if deployed later in the battle.

Two _Defiant_ -class escorts and a closely-related but sleeker _Valiant_ -class joined the new wave of Federation fighters, followed closely by three of the more rounded and compact _Gallant_ -class ships. All six escorts tore through the Orion interceptors: phaser pulse cannons and even phaser arrays overwhelming the green fighters' shields. Meanwhile the escort ships' armor—designed to survive glancing blows from capital ships—shrugged off the weak bursts of disruptor fire coming from the interceptors. In a matter of minutes the Federation squadrons had broken through. Together with the six escorts, they made it to the gap in the defense fleet.

"It's working!" said the Kasheeta, tapping the science console with her claws. "I have a fix on over a dozen cloaked Klingon ships!"

But suddenly the Rigelian tactical officer shouted a warning. "Admiral! Look!" He pointed to the viewscreen.

There, a Klingon fleet could be seen decloaking: seventeen ships in all. Birds-of-prey and armored cruisers surrounded the Federation squadrons and their escorts. A _Negh'Var_ -class battleship decloaked directly in front of them. The Klingon ships opened fire immediately, tearing through the fighters and hammering the escorts with green disruptor fire from all directions. A barrage of massive bolts of disruptor fire from the _Negh'Var_ 's siege cannons blasted two of the _Gallant_ -class ships apart. The third was pinned between the fire of three different _Vor'cha_ -class heavy cruisers until its warp core breached in a bright flash. The _Valiant_ -class and both _Defiant_ s were caught in a deadly crossfire from two of the Klingon's large _Norgh_ -class birds-of-prey and two of the new _Pach_ -class escort ships. The _Valiant_ -class managed to get away, only to be taken out by a brief volley of disruptor cannon fire and a pair of quantum torpedoes from a Klingon heavy cruiser with a T-shaped bow and a design so new Vorix did not recognize it. It took only a few moments for the surprised escorts to be eliminated. The remaining Federation fighters did not last much longer, as the Orions launched a second wave of their own fighters.

It all happened so quickly that no one on the bridge of the _Odin_ had time to react until it was over. But as the last of the Federation escorts were destroyed, Vorix saw his chance. "Tactical, order all ships to fire all forward torpedoes on the Klingons! Do not let those ships re-engage their cloaks!"

White points of light filled the forward viewscreen as quantum torpedoes raced out at the Klingon fleet from every remaining Federation starship. Over a hundred torpedoes hammered the shields of the Klingon warships, or streaked between them as the ships executed evasive maneuvers. One of the _Norgh_ -class birds-of-prey got caught facing broadside into the barrage and a quartet of torpedoes took down its starboard shield, followed by two more torpedoes that severed its neck and broke the ship in two. A small, non-refitted _K't'inga_ -class light cruiser lost its shields in the barrage as well. One torpedo tore into her port nacelle, blowing it off. As the light cruiser listed to port it was hit by three more torpedoes, two obliterating its command section and a third impacting dead center in its engineering hull, cracking it down the center and causing a massive secondary explosion that annihilated the ship. Several other ships were damaged, but none of them turned out of the fight. Instead, they all opened fire, along with all the other ships in the defensive fleet. Over a hundred torpedoes flew back at the Ninth Fleet, a mix of bright red and white photon and quantum torpedoes.

The bridge of the _Odin_ trembled as the massive ship attracted more than its fair share of torpedoes. "Forward shields holding at 93%," announced the synthesized voice of the Xelatian ops officer.

"One of the _Excaliber_ -class ships, the _Caliburn_ , has sustained heavy damage to their forward shields and weapons grid," said the communications officer. "No other ships are reporting significant damage."

"Move the damaged _Excaliber_ -class ship back to the transport," Vorix instructed. "Prepare to fire another volley!"

"Sir! The Klingon fleet is advancing…they're all advancing, sir! Gorn and Orion as well," said the tactical officer. "They're closing to within two hundred thousand kilometers and firing disruptors!"

The ship rocked again as angry green beams lanced out from the defensive fleet, quickly followed by the pulse of disruptor cannon fire. "Forward shields still holding," reported the Xelatian.

"Return fire with phasers and have all ships close range as well," Vorix ordered. "Make the Klingon fleet the priority target. When we break them, the rest of the fleet will scatter!"

"Aye, sir!" said the communications officer, relaying the order.

"Sir, we have three groups breaking off from the main fleet," the Rigelian tactical officer warned. "All five Gorn ships, seven Orion ships, and seven Klingon ships have all broken off separately. They're maneuvering for flank attacks on our fleet!"

"They must be going for the transport. They must not be allowed to reach it!" said Vorix. The bridge rocked again under a fresh round of disruptor fire. "Redeploy our heavy cruisers to counter," he ordered. "Send the two _Sovereign_ -classes to deal with the larger fleets: _Claudius_ to deal with the Orions and _Endurance_ to deal with the Klingons. Send the _Envoy_ -class to take care of the Gorn fleet, and move the _Guardian_ -class to protect the transport in case any of them get through. Redeploy our light cruisers to support them: _Excaliber_ -class ships to protect the transport, three of the _Vesper_ -class ships to engage the Gorn, the other two plus one of the _Cheyenne_ -class ships to engage the Orions, and the remaining _Cheyenne_ -class and the _Dakota_ -class light cruisers to engage the Klingon flank attack. Send all three _Saber_ -class escorts to engage the Klingon flank attack as well, and deploy the _Callisto_ -class light escorts against the Orions!"

"Sir, that will leave us spread very thin," the Rigelian warned. "Our center will be left with nothing to counter the enemy's escorts and birds-of-prey, to say nothing of their fighters!"

"Deploy the reserve squadrons in defensive formations," Vorix ordered. "And order the _Prometheus_ -class ships to separate and engage the smaller enemy ships in multi-vector assault mode." It was not an ideal solution, since the Orion fighters would still outnumber theirs and _Prometheus_ -class ships were designed to fight separated for brief maneuvers, not entire battles. There were no ideal solutions, however, as it was becoming increasingly apparent that although the Federation's victory in this battle was inevitable, the Klingons were going to make it as costly a victory as possible.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** The _Odin_ 's bridge crew is a sort of collection of all the most obscure Federation races in the canon. Arbazan are humanoids with very faint forehead ridges, appearing in DS9 "The Forsaken." Rigelians are a humanoid species that's appeared as background characters or been mentioned in passing in many Star Trek episodes, and may or may not be the same as the reptilian Rigellians seen in ENT: "Demons" and "Terra Prime." For the sake of avoiding confusion and giving them an appearance people can imagine, I'll say they are the same. Kasheeta are large pink-skinned dinosaur-like reptilians who appeared briefly as background characters in _Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home_. Deltans are bald humanoids with pheromones somewhat similar to those of Orions, but evidently without the disastrous effects seen in ENT: "Bound." Deltan Lieutenant Ilia played a major role in _Star Trek: The Motion Picture_ and four male Deltans with gold hair appeared on the Federation Council in _Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home_. Xelatians also appear as background characters in _Star Trek: The Voyage Home_ , where two of them are distinguished by their full body suits and gold face masks. According to the _Star Trek IV Sourcebook_ , they're actually squid or octopus like beings who use the suits to contain enough water to keep them alive and to allow them to move about on land.

Tachyon detection grids were first used in canon to detect cloaked ships during the Klingon Civil War in TNG "The Redemption II." Here Vorix's employment of them is a symptom of his focus on the Klingon fleet to the exclusion of all the other defenders, and the focus puts him in a precarious situation. Yes, he did need to find out where the Klingons were, but his sensors and the big gap in the ships he could see gave him a pretty good idea where they were from the start. Locating them precisely could have waited, and he could have baited them out by engaging the rest of the defense fleet. But he didn't want to shoot Orions or Gorn, he came here to kill Klingons, fully convinced that they were the linchpin he needed to pull to win the battle in a resounding victory. So he threw away his fighters and escorts finding their exact location. A blunder, yes, but I hope a believable one based on what we know about his character.


	18. Battle is Joined

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

 _ **Battle is Joined**_

* * *

 _IKS_ Ki'tang _, Ganalda System, Year of Kahless 1032, Day 321, 07:51 hours_

 _Record of Battle, IKS_ Ki'tang _, First Officer Doran recording:_

 _The battle is joined against the Federation invaders over Ganalda IV! It will be a desperate fight. Even with our Gorn and Orion allies, General Drex's fleet is too small to fend off the forces that oppose us. High Chancellor J'mpok himself has promised to come to our aid with the dreadnoughts_ Vo'Quv _and_ Chang _, but the cloaks of these ships do not adequately cover them when travelling at warp. Therefore, Captain Morath, whose House I and the_ Ki'tang _serve, has volunteered to take the_ Raqtal _and three other cruisers into a flanking position to jam the Federation fleet's sensors and blind them to the approach of our reinforcements. It is our duty and honor to fight alongside them, and to give them time to get into position themselves. We will act as their escorts with four other birds-of-prey—one_ B'rel _-class like our own, and two the newer, larger_ Norgh _-class._

 _The battle has started well enough! The Federation admiral is a_ petaQ _who threw his fighters and escorts away on revealing an obvious trap. But all will not be so easy always. The real battle has yet to begin!_

* * *

"Stay on them!" Jurlek ordered, leaning forward in the captain's chair. On the small viewscreen ahead of him a Federation fighter weaved back and forth, before momentarily flying straight in front of the _Ki'tang_. "Fire!"

The disruptor cannons pulsed green fire into the fighter, vaporizing it in a white-hot explosion. Jurlek clenched his fist victoriously. " _Quapla_!"

Doran felt a small thrill of victory herself, but she suppressed it. The fight was far from over and any celebration was premature. A warning tone from her science console confirmed this. "Captain! Seven starships have broken off from the main fleet, led by one of the _Sovereign_ -class heavy cruisers. They're headed straight for the _Raqtal_!"

"On screen!" Jurlek commanded.

The viewscreen shifted to show the long, sleek shape of a Starfleet _Sovereign_ -class ship rising from the Federation fleet below, surrounded by six smaller ships. To the sides of and above it were three _Cheyenne_ -class cruisers, or some variant thereof, with their saucer sections sandwiched between a pair of curved, branching pylons, each of which supported two nacelles, making for a total of four nacelles per ship. The other three ships were arrayed in front of the heavy cruiser, all _Saber_ -class ships, their small, semi-circular saucer sections joined directly to the twin nacelles that trailed behind them.

"They'll be in range in two minutes! The _Raqtal_ needs more time to reach optimal position," said Doran. "We must delay those ships!"

Jurlek clenched his jaw, but was silent.

"Captain, the _Sarden_ , _K'm'tar_ , and the _Reas_ are already beginning their attack runs." Doran urged, "We must do the same!"

Jurlek shook his head, staring at the enemy ships. "Four birds-of-prey against seven ships, and two of the birds-of-prey are _B'rel_ -class ships that should have been retired _before_ the Dominion War… It is madness! Suicide!"

"It is our duty, as soldiers of the Empire! Honor demands it!" said Doran, stepping toward Jurlek.

The motion caught the old Klingon's eyes and he jumped to his feet, drawing his _d'k tagh_ and brandishing it at her. "Do not lecture me about honor, _petaQ_!" he shouted. Doran stepped backward, and Jurlek seemed satisfied. He sheathed his dagger and sat down. "Helm, begin our attack run," he said. "Tactical, target the lead vessel!"

"Aye, sir!" said T'Lak, pulling down the gunner's periscope.

The _Ki'tang_ rushed forward, following the other three birds-of-prey as they dove on the Federation ships' forward quarter. The Starfleet ships were rising quickly, tilting their saucer sections further and further up, but they were nowhere near quick enough. The Klingon ships opened fire with disruptor cannons and photon torpedoes (quantum torpedoes in the case of the _Norgh_ -class birds-of-prey, _Sarden_ and _K'm'tar_ ) while the Federation ships could fire only phasers in return. Still, the Federation ships had no shortage of phaser banks. Bright orange beams pounded the forward shields of the birds-of-prey, slashing across the viewscreen as Doran watched. Most of the fire was being directed at the other three birds-of-prey though, and not at the _Ki'tang_. Even so the deck shook and sparks flew from an overhead line.

"Shields down to 72%!" warned Baduk, from the engineering console.

"The lead _Saber_ -class escort's shields are failing!" said Doran. "The _Reas_ has also lost shields!"

"Keep firing!" Jurlek ordered. "Photon torpedoes!"

A pair of red photon torpedoes streaked out from the _Ki'tang_ , impacting the lead _Saber_ -class ship solidly. One hit the bow, causing the ship to pitch downward. The second exploded in the middle of the saucer section, causing a large explosion. A brief volley of disruptor fire finished the lead ship off, cracking its saucer section in two. On either side of it the more powerful quadruple disruptor cannons and quantum torpedoes of the _Sarden_ and the _K'm'tar_ tore into the other two _Saber_ -class escorts, leaving one crippled and the other destroyed outright.

But at the same time, one of the Starfleet cruisers managed to get its bow elevated enough to bring its own torpedo launchers to bear. Three quantum torpedoes streaked out. One hit the _Reas_ dead center, blowing the small bird-of-prey apart. The other two hit the _Ki'tang_ , causing the deck to pitch violently and sparks to fly around the bridge.

"Shields are failing!" Baduk shouted.

"Helm! Evasive!" shouted Jurlek.

But it was too late! Angry red-orange beams of phaser fire converged on the _Ki'tang_ from all directions. The green bubble of its shields flickered and died. Then a bright beam of phaser fire lanced out from the large saucer section of the _Sovereign_ -class ship, catching the bird-of-prey in its now-vulnerable head.

The helm console at the port-side front of the bridge exploded violently, hurtling Kodrak's smoldering body halfway across the room. Knife-edged shrapnel ricocheted off bulkheads. Something hit Doran in the left side of the face. It felt like a Gorn's punch! The blow knocked her backward off her feet. Her head rebounded off of one of the deck supports. The whole room became dim, swimming. She could only see out of her right eye and her ears were ringing.

She dimly perceived the shouts and motions of the rest of the bridge crew. She heard Baduk shout, "Weapons systems are damaged and the shields are offline! We've lost helm control!"

"Obviously!" shouted Jurlek. "Route helm to the starboard side console!" He rushed to man it himself.

Then an alarm blared at tactical. "We're being boarded! Starfleet personnel beaming aboard from that Federation transport!"

"How many?" Jurlek demanded.

"Three teams, four men each." She typed furiously on her console, then pounded it with a fist. "Internal sensors are damaged. I can't isolate them!"

"Take a team and secure the ship!" Jurlek ordered. As she drew her pistol and ran off, Jurlek turned to Baduk. "Engineer, can we cloak?"

The burly Klingon checked his console. "Yes, sir! The cloak is still operational."

"Engage it!" shouted Jurlek, turning back to his controls. "I won't be able to evade them forever!"

The deck trembled again. Doran moaned and lost consciousness.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I do love how animated Klingons can get during a good old fashioned space battle!

 _Norgh_ -class ships are introduced in Star Trek Online, as a Tier 3 bird-of-prey and aesthetically very similar to the classic _B'rel_. One major difference is the addition of two stubby mini wings that unfold beneath the main wings during battle, holding their own disruptor cannons. This is the in-game justification for making the quad disruptor cannons a purchasable upgrade for them, and in my story I thought it justification enough to give them qaudruple disruptor cannons from the start. I also gave them quantum torpedoes since they are a modern Klingon design.

The _Sovereign_ -class ship mentioned here is, of course, Captain Ramsey's _Endurance_. The _Cheyenne_ -class first appeared in the starship graveyard scene in TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II." There it was little more than a blurry piece of special effects and kitbashing, but Star Trek Online brings it and the _Dakota_ -class variant back as modestly sized starships with their saucer section surrounded by four warp nacelles. In game they serve as Tier 3 Heavy cruisers, but since they're obviously less threatening than a _Sovereign_ -class, I downgraded them to regular cruisers. _Saber_ -class escorts are much smaller, little more than a truncated saucer section with a pair of nacelles tucked underneath it.


	19. Boarding Action

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

 ** _Boarding Action_**

* * *

 _IKS_ Ki'tang _, Ganalda System, Year OF Kahless 1032, Day 321, 07:57 Hours_

 _Nita of the House of Morath's Personal Log:_

 _I can feel the_ Ki'tang _shaking! This is it! We're in the battle! I feel so helpless, here in the brig! It's like I'm back on that Orion freighter, watching the battle with the Nausicaan pirates. All I can do is wait and hope we survive! That we prevail! More than that, I find myself hoping for our enemy to board us. If they do, maybe I'll get a chance to strike back and win my honor as a warrior! I have the_ mek'leth _that Doran gave me hidden beneath my bunk, and the pheromone masker that Paq left me to use as a last resort. I'm ready! This may be my last chance to prove myself!_

* * *

The _Ki'tang_ rocked under fire more violently than ever before, sending Nita rolling out of her bunk and across the floor of her cell. Sparks flew from the doorframe of the cell and the forcefield flickered, vanishing momentarily before reappearing. Nita looked across the room to Korban, the Bekk who was manning the monitoring console. She shuddered to think what her pent-up pheromones would do to him if they were released. She picked up the pheromone masker from the floor and snapped it closed on her right forearm. There was a momentary pain as the injectors found her veins. Her fingers hovered over the controls, ready to inject her first dose of the suppressant. She hesitated.

Suddenly, the door of the brig ground open. Korban looked to the door and his eyes went wide. He started to shout and his hand went for his disruptor pistol. Before he could reach it a triple blast of yellow phaser bolts screeched across the room, catching him in the chest and hurtling him to the deck. He slumped against the wall, unconscious or dead—Nita could not tell.

Her blood ran cold. She knew she was in danger, knew she had to act! She reached under her bunk. Her hand closed around the grip of her _mek'leth_.

Two men stepped into view, covered from the neck down in silver skin-tight armored suits. They were human and held phaser rifles in their hands. Starfleet!

One of them saw her. He shouted to someone outside the brig. It took a moment for Nita to understand what he was saying. It had been a long time since she'd heard Federation Standard. "We've got a prisoner in here!" he shouted. "An Orion female."

"She could be important. Secure her and beam her back to the brig on the _Resolute_ for interrogation," came the response. "Then help us with the deck-by-deck sweep of the rest of this ship!"

"Aye, sir," said the first human. He stepped up to the threshold and reached for the controls.

"Be careful, she could be dangerous," the other human warned, standing further back, his weapon trained on Nita.

The first human laughed derisively. "You say that about every redhead!"

"I'm serious," the second one insisted. "You never know what tricks these green-skins have up their sleeves!"

"Relax!" the first human replied. "It's not like the Klingons would put her in here without searching her for weapons first. The only dangerous thing about her is her pheromones, and we're not going to be around her that long!" He deactivated the forcefield.

Nita's muscles tensed, ready to strike, but she remained motionless. The second human had his rifle pointed right at her, his finger on the trigger. If she moved now she wouldn't live long enough to land a blow.

She looked to the other soldier, who's been standing next to the forcefield when he deactivated it. He swayed on his feet, like a man who'd had too much bloodwine. "That's… That's wow…" he muttered, then stepped forward, slowly, as if in a trance. "She's beautiful…"

Obviously, the built-up pheromones in the cell had hit him hard!

"Hey, Ramirez! Snap out of it!" shouted the second soldier. When the first soldier didn't respond, his partner swore. "Shit, the pheromones! Gotta get the antidote!" He dropped his right hand from his rifle, reaching to pull a hypospray from a pack on his belt.

Nita saw the momentary opening and seized it. She drew her _mek'leth_ and lunged across the cell. She slashed the first soldier's throat before he could break out of his trance and realize he was in danger. The second soldier swore. He dropped the hypospray. His finger returned to the trigger, but he was too late. Nita was already in motion again. She rolled under his first, scattered volley. She came out of the roll at his feet, under the rifle. She shoved it away from him with her left hand and slashed through his neck with her right. Warm blood sprayed across her cheek as the man fell.

"What's going on in there?" demanded the voice of the third soldier, their leader. She could hear him approaching the door. It opened automatically.

Nita spun around. She still had the dead man's phaser rifle. She dropped her _mek'leth_ and took hold of the rifle with both hands as the other two soldiers came through the door. She fired.

The rifle was set for full-auto, spraying yellow bolts across the room at both men. The air before them flashed and crackled with blue light as the phaser bolts impacted their personal shields. Then one of the soldier's shields failed. He took a bolt to the shoulder and fell backward, crying out. His partner dragged him back behind the doorframe, firing back at Nita one-handed.

His volley went wide, but still forced Nita to take cover behind the console. She knew she could not hold out there for long, though. The soldier she'd hit was just wounded, and maybe not seriously. He might be back, and his personal shield and that of the other soldier would recharge in less than a minute. Without a personal shield of her own, she didn't stand a chance against them.

She picked up her _mek'leth_ and tucked it into the sash that held her bloodstained medical gown closed. A volley of phaser fire hammered the console behind her, showering her with sparks. She flinched, then pointed her rifle around the side of the console, firing blindly back at the doorway. She heard someone curse and there was a break in the enemy fire as they took cover. Nita took advantage of it, scrambling into the opening of the maintenance crawlways and sealing the hatch behind her.

The maintenance crawlways were more cramped than she'd remembered them, with places where she had to wriggle between the armored outer hull and some protruding piece of equipment—but then again she'd grown a lot since she'd last explored these spaces as a five year old. The layout was still familiar enough. Her body navigated through the tight spaces automatically while her mind plunged ahead, trying to plan out her next move. She considered going to the armory to get a personal shield and some armor of her own, but it would take too much time. There was still one member of the boarding team on deck 1 who was uninjured and fit to continue sweeping the ship. He would be outnumbered by the crew, true, but he was much better armed and protected and Nita did not think for a moment that he was working alone. Starting a boarding action of a bird-of-prey by beaming a team of soldiers to deck 1 made no sense: there were no vital systems on that deck. The main force of the enemy would have to beam aboard near the bridge on deck 5 and one of main engineering's primary entrances, on decks 6 or 4. That would allow them to quickly seize control of the ship's systems while another team, probably the one Nita had just encountered, systematically stalked the rest of the bird-of-prey looking for survivors.

 _I have to get to one of the control points_ , Nita thought, scrambling down a ladder set into one of the curved sections of the inner hull, spanning two decks. The bridge was too far away, too difficult to access from the engineering hull, and would be a small area, easily taken by a single well-armed boarding party. Engineering on the other hand took four decks to house the bird-of-prey's oversized warp cores, with two of those decks forming main floors and the other two providing service catwalks above them. It was too large to be easily controlled, and the numerous catwalks would provide an excellent vantage point for her to fire down on any enemy soldiers present. With that in mind, she injected a dose of suppressant from her pheromone masker, set the phaser rifle to its maximum fully-automatic setting, and hurried through the crawlways to main engineering.

Before long she'd reached a hatch on deck 3 that she knew led to the catwalks around the top of the portside warp core. She opened the hatch as quietly as possible and slipped out onto the catwalk on bare feet. An acrid smoke hung in the air, stinging her eyes and nose. She strained to see through it to the deck below. What she could see indicated that main engineering had taken quite a beating. The floor was littered with debris and a catwalk in one corner had collapsed. A small fire crackled in the remains of a damaged plasma injector housing near its base. There were two bodies on the floor as well, both Klingon. One was burned beyond recognition, probably killed when the injector exploded, the other was slumped unconscious at his console. Stunned by the Starfleet soldiers, no doubt.

Nita spotted one of them, his silver armor giving him away in the red-hued emergency lights. She leaned over the edge of the catwalk to aim her rifle at him, then she spotted another figure nearby, crouching behind the large deuterium tank that dominated the center of the deck. It was K'Gan, holding a hyperspanner like a club, ready to ambush the soldier Nita had spotted as soon as he came around the corner. What he didn't see was a second soldier coming around the opposite corner of the tank behind him, his rifle ready.

Nita saw the second soldier though, and quickly shifted her aim. She fired a long burst from the rifle, sending a stream of phaser bolts pounding through the soldier's shield and armor. His screams quickly cut off. The other soldier stepped forward and fired a volley up at Nita, but his shots impacted the bottom of the catwalk. His firing abruptly stopped as K'Gan rushed up beside him and brought the hyperspanner down on his head, hard. Even from here, Nita could hear bone crack. She hurried to the ladder and made her way down to him.

"Well fought, Nita, daughter of a starship captain," K'Gan said when she arrived, he was grinning, holding the phaser rifle of the man he'd killed, but there was a grimness behind his eyes.

"Well fought, K'Gan, son of Ker," she replied. "Are there more of them?"

"Two more," said K'Gan. "They took the other engineers by surprise down on deck 6. Two they knocked out with stun grenades. The other they shot trying to climb up and escape."

Nita nodded. "Then it's the two of us against the two of them." Not that the numbers made it an even fight. She glanced at the soldier's body, lying at their feet. "One of us should take his shield."

K'Gan shook his head. "Starfleet builds their personal shields to be integrated into their armor, with a built-in power-generator. Even if we were able to get the armor off and put it on one of us, we'd have to re-calibrate the personal shield for it to fit either one of us."

For a moment Nita considered trying to carry the soldier or his armor into one of the maintenance crawlways or access chambers to buy them enough time to equip the personal shield. Then she saw two silver shapes climbing out of the ladder well from deck 6. She fired a long burst at them, rushing to cover behind the central engineering console as she did so. Her movement made the shots too erratic. They glanced off the personal shields of the Starfleet soldiers. The soldiers, returned fire, but K'Gan fired a volley of his own at them at the same time, distracting them and forcing them to take cover. They didn't need to take cover for long, though. Their shields recharged in a matter of seconds, allowing them to emerge again, firing on the spots where Nita and K'Gan had taken shelter.

Nita flinched as sparks rained down on her. She held her rifle up over the edge of the console, firing blindly. One of the bolts that was fired back hit her rifle, nearly throwing it from her hand. She pulled it back down and inspected the damage. The automatic firing cycler had been hit. The rifle would be good for single shots now only, and not more than a couple of those. It would stand no chance against their shields.

K'Gan fired another volley of his own and the Starfleet soldiers took shelter again for their shields to recharge. They were at the main door to engineering on deck 4 now. Nita could tell what they were doing. They were in perfect position now to sweep around either side of the deuterium tank in the center of the room, and the main doorway commanded a clear line of fire to the rest of this level of engineering. They had K'Gan and Nita pinned in the center of the room, and when their shields were fully recharged they'd make simultaneous flank attacks, giving them no chance of escape or victory.

Unless we strike now, before their shields fully recharge, she thought. Nita rushed from the center console to the deuterium tank, beside K'Gan. "We have to take them out now!" she said.

K'Gan peeked around the corner. A volley of phaser fire drove him back. "I can't get a clean shot!" he said. "They're too far back behind the doorway."

Nita's mind worked furiously. "K'Gan, didn't you say the primary EPS conduits were in that doorway? The fragile ones?"

K'Gan exchanged glances with her, then smiled. "Of course! If those were ruptured, shields or not they'd stand no chance!" He pointed through the tank. "They're just inside the doorway on the left side, low down, where the deck joins the wall. You'll have the best shot at them!"

Nita adjusted her damaged rifle to fire a continuous beam, expending the remainder of its power in one shot. "Distract them for me!" she said.

He nodded and swung out of cover, firing a long burst toward the doorway. Both soldiers returned fire, phaser bolts shrieking past him. While they were distracted, Nita swung out of cover herself, aiming low for the spot K'Gan had described. She could just make out the curve of one of the conduits. She took careful aim and fired.

The explosion shook the room. A gout of flame engulfed the doorway and threw the charred bodies of one of the soldiers several meters through the air. Glowing hot plasma flooded from the burst pipe filling the doorway and much of the corridor beyond. Nita heard the screams from the other soldier from inside the cloud, but they cut off quickly.

K'Gan rushed to a console and typed in a quick command, diverting and venting the plasma. He ran a quick scan as well. "Engineering is secure! _Qapla'_!"

"And the rest of the ship?" Nita asked, discarding her ruined rifle and picking up the rifle of one of the other downed soldiers.

The console beeped negatively and K'Gan shook his head. "There's too much damage. Internal sensors are down across most of the ship. We're cloaked, if that helps. There'll be no more of them beaming aboard."

 _Cloaked, in the middle of battle?_ Nita shook her head. _It didn't matter. What was important was retaking control of the ship._ "We need to get to the bridge," she said. "Lock down the main computer. That should keep them from controlling the ship."

"Already done," said K'Gan. He raised his phaser rifle and together they walked out of engineering, past the charred bodies of the defeated soldiers, and into the turbolift down the hall.

"We should go to the armory first," Nita said as they descended one deck. "We need personal shields, and I need armor." She gestured to the medical gown she was wearing.

"True, but it seems a shame to cover up such flawless skin." He gave her a roguish grin.

Nita blushed a little at the attention and surreptitiously checked to make sure her masker was working. It was, though she wondered if it would really be a bad thing if it failed when K'Gan was around—some other time of course!

They exited the turbolift and Nita led the way toward the armory. They moved in turns, checking corners and moving cover to cover, keeping their eyes on what was ahead.

Suddenly, a volley of phaser bolts shrieked past them from behind! Nita turned to see a lone Starfleet soldier, the one whose partner she'd wounded in the brig, advancing behind them. K'Gan fired a volley back at the soldier, but his shield deflected it, and a long burst from his rifle forced K'Gan to take cover. Nita scrambled to take cover herself. She was about to fire a volley at the soldier as well, to deter his advance, when she saw a figure racing up behind him. She recognized him a moment before he reached the soldier, and she shouted, "K'Gan, hold your fire!"

The soldier himself turned at her shout, looking around himself. He was just in time to see a white-haired Klingon rushing him with a _d'k tahg_. For an old man, Paq was surprisingly agile, reaching his target before the man could bring his rifle to bear. With a shouted war-cry the old Klingon tackled his opponent to the ground and plunged his dagger to the hilt in the man's neck, killing him instantly.

He withdrew his dagger and stood, facing Nita and K'Gan. "Don't look so surprised, you two," he said wiping the blood off with his tunic. "I may be a surgeon now, but I was a warrior long before either of you were born!" He sheathed his _d'k tahg_ and picked up the dead man's phaser rifle, expertly adjusting its settings. "I assume you two came from engineering. What's the situation there?"

"The boarding party is dead, but everyone else there is either dead or stunned," said K'Gan.

Paq frowned and turned to Nita. "And I see you're wearing your masker again. I can't say I blame you."

Nita gritted her teeth. "If I'd stayed in that cell, I'd be a Federation prisoner right now. I will choose death over chains!"

Before Paq could respond they heard the sounds of weapons-fire echoing down the corridor. They ran forward, toward the sound, rifles at the ready. The shooting stopped just before they reached the sound, though. They came around the corner to find two Starfleet soldiers standing over the unconscious body of T'Lak. Nita didn't give them a chance to turn around. She and K'Gan immediately opened fire, their combined volleys taking the soldiers by surprise, overwhelming their shields and hitting them in the back and scorching holes through their armor.

As they toppled, Paq came around the corner after them, a little out of breath. He rushed forward as the shooting stopped and knelt to examine T'Lak. "Unconscious, but alive," he said. "More than I can say for the soldiers. It looks like they came back from the central corridor, from the bridge. If the boarding party is sending their people back to the rest of the ship from the bridge, they must be pretty confident that they have everything under control there…and that's bad for us! I've no intension of ending my days on a Federation prison barge!"

Nita nodded. "We need to hurry!"

They took up positions at the end of the long corridor that ran the length of the bird-of-prey's neck. They checked its length carefully, but there were no Federation soldiers waiting to ambush them on the other end. Paq harrumphed at this. "These Starfleet dogs don't seem to know what they're doing. First they let me sneak up behind them, and now they're not even taking advantage of a natural choke point like this! The fools! This could have been a killing field!"

"I for one am grateful it's not," said K'Gan.

Nita nodded. "I will live or die as a warrior, but I'm grateful to live today."

Paq gave her a wry smile. "Glad to see you finally found your sense," he said. "You're too young to be looking for a way to die honorably."

They made their way down the corridor. With most of the crew dead or stunned and the ship's systems locked down, it was eerily quiet on the _Ki'tang_. Two pairs of boots and one pair of bare feet were all that could be heard in the long hall as they approached the final battle for the ship.

"We should take them from all sides," K'Gan said as they entered the command section. "There are three entrances to the bridge. If we use all three we can flank them with ease!"

"You two take the side entrances. I'll take the center," said Paq. "We'll move on my signal."

"What signal?" asked Nita. "I don't have a communicator."

Paq huffed. "Well, I suppose I'll just have to listen for the sounds of shooting. That should be signal enough!"

They split up, with Nita going right and K'Gan going left. She made her way around a couple corners to the door on the starboard side. As she took up position, her rifle ready, she noticed globs of hardened metal filling the crack between the doors. They'd been welded shut by phaser fire from the other side.

Just then she heard a shout from behind. "K'Gan! Nita! Get over here!" Paq's voice echoed through the corridor. "We've got a problem!"

Nita dashed back to the central door, making it just a moment before K'Gan. She immediately saw what the problem was. The door was welded shut, just like the starboard door had been. "The doors are sealed shut," she said.

"Mine's sealed as well," said K'Gan.

"Perhaps they are not all total fools, then," said Paq. "We'll have to blast through the doors, but it will take time, and we'll have to focus our fire on just one door. There's no way they won't be ready for us when we finally get through."

"And there's no telling what they'll do while they're in there," said K'Gan. "My encryption on the main computer won't keep the locked out of the controls forever!"

"We should forget the doors then," Nita said. Doors were barriers people who thought it two dimensions used. Her mind worked quickly through the schematics of the command deck and came up with a three-dimensional alternative. "There's an escape hatch above the captain's chair. It leads to the maintenance area for the forward sensors on deck 4. I doubt the Starfleet soldiers even know it's there."

K'Gan smiled. "Of course! We could take them by surprise!"

Paq huffed. "Crawling through maintenance tunnels at my age is not going to be easy, but if it's the only way to victory…" He shrugged. "Lead on," he said.

Nita led the way to a ladder that took them up into the maintenance crawlways on deck 4. A short crawl forward and around a bend brought them into the sensor maintenance compartment. This section of the ship had obviously been damaged. Debris were scattered along the floor and the room was filled with smoke, forcing them to stay low to avoid breathing it in. Fortunately, that put them in the perfect position to find and gather around the hatch. When they were all ready, Nita blasted off the latch, causing the hatch to fall open and revealing the bridge below.

There were two Starfleet soldiers down there. One was working on the science station, partially obscured by the fallen hatch, which now formed a ladder up to deck 4. Only Nita had a shot at hitting him. The other soldier was pacing back and forth in front of the viewscreen. When the hatch fell open, he turned to it immediately, raising his phaser rifle. He wasn't fast enough. K'Gan and Paq both opened fire on him. Their twin streams of phaser bolts overwhelmed the soldier's shields and ripped through his armor, felling him.

Nita fired a burst at the other soldier, but he ducked behind the console before her shots could penetrate his shield. A moment later he popped up to fire a burst of his own. Phaser bolts impacted on the lip of the hatchway, showering sparks into the bridge below, but one or two bolts made it into the maintenance chamber, missing Nita by centimeters.

K'Gan and Paq moved around the opening to crouch beside her, firing bursts of their own at the remaining soldier. Their shots sparked off the back of the science console, and were answered by another volley from the soldier. Nita managed to get off a burst at him this time, but his shield deflected it, fully recharged from her initial volley. He ducked down afterward, waiting for it to recharge again.

"This is no good," said Paq. "He can wait us out like this, pick us off one by one while his shield protects him!"

"We need to outflank him," Nita said. She moved to the escape hatch's ladder. "Give me cover fire!"

K'Gan and Paq fired long bursts at the Starfleet soldier's hiding place, forcing him to stay down while Nita scrambled down the ladder. The motion must have caught the soldier's eye. He popped up, firing a short, quick burst at Nita. Most of the shots glanced off the escape hatch, but one hit Nita's rifle, cracking it in half. She threw it away and dove into cover behind the tactical console. As she did so, she heard the soldier curse as K'Gan and Paq's fire partially broke through his shields. She saw him duck and toss away his own phaser rifle, which had taken a shot meant for his head.

He was unarmed now, but that didn't mean he'd be an easy kill. He was a Vulcan, and a big one, well-muscled, over two meters tall. He'd have a huge advantage in strength with hand-to-hand combat. But Nita was used to facing opponents with such advantages. She drew her _mek'leth_ from her sash and advanced. His shield would not protect against a blade.

The Vulcan circled, staying low and in cover to avoid fire from above. Nita stalked him. She took advantage of the fact that she could afford to straighten up while he could not. She swung her blade at his unprotected head. His armored right arm shot up, taking the blow instead. Metal bit into metal and Nita saw a trickle of green blood.

But the soldier would not go down so easily. He struck back, his left palm striking Nita's midsection with an open-palm blow that took full advantage of his superior strength. Nita tumbled across the room, but she managed to land on her feet. The soldier started to advance on her, but the shriek of phaser bolts impacting his shield forced him back into cover. They circled for a second more, looking for an opening. Nita knew he would not waste a second attack with a strike to merely push her back. He would try to kill her or incapacitate her the next chance he got. _The Vulcans have a technique, a nerve pinch_ , Nita didn't know how it worked, but she knew what it would look like. She'd seen a Vulcan use it on a rowdy patron in a bar back on Drozana Station as a little girl. _He'll need to go for the shoulder, where it joins the neck, probably striking with his left arm—the other one's wounded—, and he'll be trying to avoid my weapon hand when he does it._ She pictured the swift strike her opponent was no doubt planning. She tried to figure a way out of it. _There's a way out of every problem, if you're clever._

Suddenly, a movement behind the soldier caught her eye. K'Gan was climbing down from the escape hatch, rifle clutched in one hand. No doubt he meant to help, but his presence in the line of fire meant that Paq could not shoot, and it also meant that Nita was distracted. The soldier took advantage of this, rushing forward. His left hand shot out to Nita's neck, but she had expected this. She dipped her shoulder under his grip and sidestepped at the last moment. As he tried to correct his aim and arrest his forward momentum, she slashed her _mek'leth_ across his throat. The last Starfleet soldier fell dead in a pool of green blood at her feet.

Nita took a moment to look around the bridge. She could see bodies everywhere. There were the Starfleet soldiers, both dead, as well as Kodrek, the helmsman, who was obviously also dead. Jurlek was sprawled not far from him, though he appeared to be merely stunned, as was Baduk at the rear of the bridge.

But there was one crumpled form that drew Nita's full attention immediately. "Doran!" She rushed to the fallen woman's side. The whole left side of her face was covered in blood, but she stirred weakly at the sound of Nita's voice. "Paq! Get down here!" she shouted, and hoped they'd made it to her fast enough.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Here at last is Nita's moment! Hopefully it wasn't too long. There was a lot I wanted to do.

The automatic phaser rifles in this chapter are based on the ones in the _Star Trek Online_ game. In the TV series and movies phaser rifles are only portrayed as semi-automatic (one trigger pull per shot) weapons. However, in _Star Trek Enterprise_ the MACO marines were depicted armed with fully automatic particle rifles. I figure that the extensive, brutal, and disastrous ground fighting of the Dominion War and previous Klingon-Federation War (as portrayed in DS9 episodes like "The Siege of AR-558" and "Nor the Battle to the Strong") would encourage the Federation to develop more effective weapons for infantry fighting. Similarly the armor is based on armor originally used and visible in game on Federation ground teams in _Star Trek Online_.

Personal shields are also based on the game's treatment of them, though personal forcefield generators are listed as one of the types of equipment being stockpiled by Admiral Leyton in preparation for his coup (in DS9's "Homefront" and "Paradise Lost"). These are never seen on screen, so I mostly based the behavior of the personal shields off of their in-game properties, able to take a few hits, but needing recharing in cover after that. I also figured that since this is still a fairly new technology and the first time it's really been deployed on any large scale, it would probably be rough around the edges and making sure the shield was fitted to the wearer properly would be a somewhat time-consuming process. That's my excuse anyway, for why the heroes weren't able to equip the shields even though even with their limitations, they're obviously better than nothing.

Stun grenades were first used by the MACO's in ENT "Shockwave". While they've never been seen since, they are an option in tactical officer kits in Star Trek Online, and it would make sense to bring them back as part of Starfleet's efforts to beef up their ground forces and boarding tactics. As for the choice to use stun grenades rather than the more deadly photon grenades, it all comes down to the reason for boarding the _Ki'tang_ and other disabled Klingon ships in the first place. Admiral Vorix is hoping to capitalize on his inevitable triumph by gaining as much intelligence as possible by capturing Klingon crews alive and their vessels intact. It also comes down to a fundamental difference in war philosophy between the Federation who try to be benevolent in victory and take prisoners, and the Klingons who consider a glorious death more humane than imprisonment.

The _Resolute_ is the name of the Starfleet transport used for boarding actions during the battle, a _Hope_ -class transport, similar too but designed to be tougher than the _Olympic_ -class seen in TNG's "All Good Things...". The _Hope_ -class is one of three _Olympic_ -class variants available for Federation players as a tier 3 science ship.

While it's not explicitly stated, given the number of English-language alphabets used in decorations and signage, and the English-language names of ships, it seems that the standard operating language of Starfleet is English. While in part this is probably just convenience for the show's English-speaking creators and original audience, it's also not implausible given the history of Earth and Starfleet. On Earth, in reality as well as the Star Trek fictional universe, there have been two human superpowers in a row that used English as their primary language, ensuring the language's dominance in politics and trade for hundreds of years. In Star Trek lore the subsequent Eugenics Wars may have broken the major nations of the world, but Zephram Cochrane's warp flight from English-speaking Montana and the subsequent development of the Warp 5 project under his supervision assured that English would remain the dominant international language of humans, eventually becoming the language of Starfleet when it was formed, first by humans and then absorbed into the Federation as well. Nita, of course, would have heard English as a child on Drozana Station, though she would probably know it simply as the common language of humans or the Federation rather than merely one of the hundreds of languages original spoken by humans on Earth.

Several Chekov's guns go off in this chapter. Nita's pheromone problem finally becomes an asset, stunning the first Starfleet officer she encounters in a manner similar to what's seen in the game as the special ability of Orion players in _Star Trek Online_. Nita's penchant for 3D thinking in interior movement allows her to bypass enemies and barricades, and K'Gan's warnings about the dangers of the plasma conduits bursting become prophetic, though the cause is very different. Hopefully this was a very satisfying experience for everyone...well, except for the Starfleet boarding party...


	20. Raqtal

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

 ** _Raqtal_**

* * *

 _Record of Battle, IKS_ Raqtal _, Year of Kahless 1032: Day 321, 07:57 hours; Captain Morath recording:_

 _We've moved into position to begin jamming the invading Federation fleet's sensors, blinding them to the approach of our reinforcements. We must hold this position, but it will not be easy. Already the enemy has sent a detachment of seven ships to defeat us, the largest of which is a_ Sovereign _-class heavy cruiser! Following Doran's advice, I've placed my_ Raqtal _and her escorts above the Federation ships. It's an advantageous position, to be sure, allowing us to fire torpedoes down on them while they cannot return fire with anything but phasers. Still, it may not be enough. Already we have taken losses. The light cruiser_ P'Rang _was destroyed in the opening volley of the battle. The_ B'rel _-class bird-of-prey_ Reas _was also destroyed, and my own old ship, the_ Ki'tang _, has been struck as well! In exchange for these we've taken out three of the enemy escorts, but their most powerful ships remain. We must engage them and keep the jamming signal going, or all will be lost!_

* * *

From the bridge of the _Raqtal_ , Captain Morath winced as he saw the _Ki'tang_ , his old ship, reeling from phaser fire as they finished their attack run.

"We've lost both _B'rel_ -class birds-of-prey," reported Lieutenant Loriss from the science station. "The _Reas_ has been destroyed and the _Ki'tang_ is damaged!"

"They still have weapons!" said K'mar, from the tactical station. "They can still fight!"

"They've been boarded and they're moving off," Loriss reported. "They've cloaked."

"Cloaked?" K'mar repeated. He pounded his console and turned to Morath. "Father, why would they cloak?!"

"It may have been the only way to prevent more boarding parties from beaming in," Ch'gren suggested. "Doran is honorable. I'm sure she won't let the _Ki'tang_ stay out of the fight for long!"

Morath nodded his agreement. Doran he was sure of, but Jurlek's position had meant he'd been given the captain's chair instead. If he was dishonorable, Morath was sure Doran would challenge him, but would she win or be in time to fight with the rest of them? He shook his head to dismiss the thought. "It doesn't matter now. Four of those Starfleet ships are still coming, and one of them is that _Sovereign_ -class heavy cruiser! The _Sarden_ and the _K'm'tar_ won't be able to hold them off alone." He turned to the engineering station. "Ch'gren! Is the jamming field established?"

The dark-haired Klingon nodded. "We're projecting the field over the enemy fleet's aft quarter. If the _Vo'Quv_ and the _Chang_ are out there, the Federation won't be able to see them coming!"

"Let's hope High Chancellor J'mpok is a man of his word then, and isn't late!" said Morath. The bridge of the cruiser shook a little as the first stray phaser beams managed to reach them. "Lieutenant J'rihk!" he shouted to the helmsman. "Begin our attack run! Have the _Poq'Char_ and the _Kometar_ form up on our flanks." Then he turned to his son and allowed himself a smile. "K'mar! Target that heavy cruiser! You may fire when ready."

The sleek shape of the _Raqtal_ banked and dove, the action mirrored by the two more traditionally-shaped _Kamarag_ -class cruisers on either side. Triple volleys of quantum torpedoes screamed out of the launchers on each ship's prow, hammering the saucer section of the _Sovereign_ -class ship below. The _Sovereign_ -class couldn't bring its own launchers to bear and its three escorting cruisers were busy chasing the two remaining birds-of-prey, but it was far from defenseless. It lashed out with a furious volley of phaser fire, hitting all three Klingon ships.

Sparks flew in one corner of the Raqtal's bridge. "Shields are holding at 82%," Ch'gren reported.

Morath nodded. With its attention divided between all three cruisers, the larger Starfleet ship's fire was less effective, but still appreciable. "Disruptor banks," Morath prompted. "Return fire!"

Green lances of energy rained down on the _Sovereign_ -class ship's prow. While individually weaker than the phaser beams the Starfleet heavy cruiser fired back in reply, the combined fire from all three cruisers had a definite effect. The _Sovereign_ -class' shields crackled visibly with blue lightning.

"Their dorsal shields are buckling," said Loriss. "They're rolling to avoid further fire!"

"I see it!" said J'rihk. On the viewscreen the large Starfleet ship was rolling up onto its starboard side, presenting its undamaged port shields, as well as fresh phaser banks and a partial view of the torpedo launchers mounted on its secondary hull.

The _Poq'Char_ , on the _Raqtal_ 's starboard side, got entirely too good a view of those launchers as a half dozen quantum torpedoes slammed into their rounded command section at close range, blowing it apart. As the stricken _Poq'Char_ tumbled forward, end over end, Morath shouted, "Hard to port! Put us on their dorsal side and keep us out of their firing arc!"

J'rihk banked the ship over to port, hard enough that the inertial dampers couldn't quite compensate for the shift in momentum. Morath clung to his seat's armrests and the rest of the crew struggled to keep their feet as well. K'mar failed and was flung against the console behind him, unable to fire.

Meanwhile, the _Raqtal_ and the _Kometar_ swung around on the dorsal side of the _Sovereign_ -class ship. It continued to fire its phasers at them. The _Raqtal_ took the brunt of the damage as it lay between the _Kometar_ and the larger Federation ship. The bridge trembled as K'mar managed to return to his station. "Shields at 68%!" warned Ch'gren.

"K'mar! Return fire!" ordered Morath. "Try to take out their dorsal phaser array!"

The young Klingon worked over the tactical console, firing disruptors. The angle was poor, but he managed to get off several shots. Green beams impacted the saucer section, causing a number of small explosions as the answering phaser fire ceased.

The Klingon cruisers had other problems though. Directly ahead of them was the long, four-nacelled shape of a _Dakota_ -class cruiser. It hammered them with phaser fire as it came about, then exchanged furious volleys of quantum torpedoes with the _Kometar_ and the _Raqtal_. The bridge shook under the volley. An unoccupied console beside Loriss exploded and for a moment Morath was afraid the Starfleet ship was going to try to ram him. Then the _Dakota_ -class exploded in a bright fireball, a _Norgh_ -class bird-of-prey flying through the debris.

"The _Sarden_ ," Loriss explained. "Got them from behind while they were distracted!"

"And the _K'm'tar_?" asked Morath.

"Destroyed by the other two cruisers," said Loriss. "Still no sign of the _Ki'tang_!"

"The _Sovereign_ -class is rolling again!" J'rihk warned. "They've interposed their starboard shields and they're bringing their aft launchers to bear! I can't stay with them!"

"Two more cruisers dead ahead!" Loriss warned. " _Dakota_ and _Cheyenne_ -class!"

"Target the lead ship and brace for impact!" shouted Morath.

The four ships engaged in a furious head-on pass, pounding one another with phasers, disruptors, and torpedoes. The older _Cheyenne_ -class ship's shields buckled under the pounding. A torpedo struck its rounded saucer section, blasting a huge section out of its circular edge. The ship lost helm control, slewing sideways and taking a pair of quantum torpedoes from the _Kometar_ dead center, where her nacelle pylons joined the saucer section. The resulting explosion vaporized the Federation cruiser.

Then, the _Sovereign_ -class ship's aft torpedo launchers opened fire. A half dozen quantum torpedoes struck out, followed by a half dozen more. The _Raqtal_ and the _Kometar_ took six hits each. Both ships lost their shields. The _Kometar_ 's shields failed faster and it had its starboard nacelle blown off by the first torpedo to make it through, then its thick neck was blown apart by a pair of torpedo hits. The _Raqtal_ 's shields managed to hold out until the last two torpedoes, and its ablative armor protected it far better against them—keeping it from breaking apart—, but it did not escape damage. One torpedo slammed into the side of the engineering hull, just above the starboard nacelle pylon. The second hit the teardrop-shaped command hull, just aft of the torpedo launcher.

It was this last impact that Morath felt the hardest. The whole room rocked and there was a large explosion on the starboard side, just in front of the tactical station. A section of the wall and roof collapsed. J'rihk screamed, his uniform on fire, until a falling beam crushed him and his station. Smoke obscured everything else in the room.

Morath leapt to his feet and rushed to the tactical station, ignoring everything else. The tactical station was a pile of debris, the console a smoking wreck. He searched the deck nearby by the light of emergency lights and electrical fires. He found K'mar lying a yard away, his uniform smoldering, his eyes fixed sightlessly on the ceiling. Morath howled his grief and rage to the heavens.

"Captain! We're still in danger!" Ch'gren's voice broke through the sound. "Fore and aft torpedo launchers are offline, and even though I've rerouted helm control the engines aren't responding. We're locked on course at one-quarter impulse!"

"We've still got that _Dakota_ -class bearing down on us!" Loriss warned. The bridge shook with renewed fire.

"Rerouting tactical to science!" said Ch'gren.

Morath could hear Loriss working over her console. "I'm trying to return fire, sir, but the targeting sensors are damaged. The _Sarden_ is starting an attack run on the _Dakota_ -class! They may be our best chance to—" Loriss never finished the sentence. At that moment there was another, smaller, explosion on her side of the room. Her scream cut off almost instantly.

"Routing science to engineering," Ch'gren said, then grimly reported, "Sir, the enemy _Dakota_ -class has been destroyed. The _Sarden_ rammed them. There were no survivors from either ship!"

Morath gritted his teeth, clutching his son's body. "Ch'gren, tell me the jamming field is still up! Tell me my son and all these warriors did not die for nothing!"

"The jamming field is still active, sir!" said Ch'gren. "No sign of the _Vo'Quv_ or the _Chang_ yet, but the Federation won't be able to see them coming."

"And the other jamming ships?" Morath asked, thinking of the Orion and Gorn flank attacks whose mission was identical to his own.

"The Gorn fleet's been completely destroyed, sir," Ch'gren reported. "The Orion fleet's holding on, but they've lost the _Tabedi_ and none of the other ships have the power to project the jamming field. I'm afraid it's down to us, sir!"

"And that _Sovereign_ -class will come around any moment now to finish us off," Morath said bitterly. He closed his son's eyes with his fingers, then rose, searching the wrecked bridge for a functioning console. "Where's the _Ki'tang_?"

"No sign of them, sir!" said Ch'gren.

"That spineless coward, Jurlek! Curse him!" Morath shouted. He pounded his fist on the console, then brought up the tactical display. He could indeed see the _Sovereign_ -class heavy cruiser coming around to finish them off. Their forward shields were at full strength. There was no way the Raqtal could penetrate those shields with disruptors alone, but Morath would die trying! He opened fire on the Federation ship, disruptors pounding their forward shields. He was still firing when the Federation ship's return fire shook the bridge and a support beam fell on him from above.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** The _P'Rang_ is the non-refitted _K't'inga_ -class cruiser that was obliterated in the opening volley of the battle back in chapter 17. Its quick demise and the endurance of the _Raqtal_ are a testament to just how tough refitting the _K't'inga_ -class with ablative hull armor made it. Of course no amount of ablative hull armor and upgraded weapons can make a 243 meter-long _K't'inga_ -class ship the equal in combat to a 683 meter-long _Sovereign_ -class ship. The differences in scale plus the fact that the _Sovereign_ -class was also designed with combat in mind, originally created to be the foremost capital ship in the Federation fleet in defense against the Borg and the Dominion. Next to that even a completely rebuilt top-of-the-line ship from a century before doesn't stand a chance.


	21. Attack Run

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

 ** _Attack Run_**

* * *

 _Record of Battle, IKS_ Ki'tang _, Year of Kahless 1032, Day 321, 08:12 hours; Nita of the House of Morath recording:_

 _Ship's surgeon Paq, engineer's mate K'Gan, and I have retaken the_ Ki'tang _from the Starfleet boarding party, but most of the crew is dead or unconscious. The bird-of-prey is cloaked for now, but badly damaged, and we have no idea what's happening in the battle right now. We've just found Doran on the bridge! ...She's alive! Paq, come quickly!_

* * *

Nita knelt over Doran, her injured mentor, until Paq shooed her away. "Give me some room!" he said, digging his scanner out of his pack. Doran tried to stir, but Paq laid a hand on her. "Lie still! You've suffered a concussion and severe lacerations to the left side of your face—not to mention you've lost an eye! If you're to have any hope of recovering, you need to stay down and let me work."

"I am…a Klingon warrior…" Doran said, trying to push herself up.

Paq pushed her down again. "Even the Klingon body has limits," he said.

Doran groaned but lay still. "The _Raqtal_ …" she whispered.

Nita turned to K'Gan, who'd taken over the engineering station. "Can you pull up external sensors on that?" she asked.

K'Gan nodded. "Pulling them up now," he said, tapping the display. "There they are, below us! Bearing 198 mark 250. They're still transmitting the jamming signal, but they're in bad shape: shields collapsed, ablative armor breached. A _Sovereign_ -class heavy cruiser is headed their way!"

Nita felt the icy touch of fear in the pit of her stomach. "The other ships?"

"All the other ships in their squadron are either destroyed or disabled," said K'Gan. "The Gorn flank attack's been destroyed and the Orion's flank attack is scattered. Even the center fleet's in bad shape. If J'mpok's reinforcements don't show up in the next few minutes, there won't be anything left for them to reinforce!"

"And if we don't save the _Raqtal_ , they may not make any difference if they make it here or not!" said Nita. She moved to the tactical station. "Route helm control to tactical!" she said.

Paq stood. "Don't be absurd! Do you even know how to use that thing?" he demanded.

"Doran showed me once," she said. It had only been a simulation, but it would have to do.

"And can you fly this ship?" he challenged.

"Can you?" she replied. When he said nothing, she went on, "Right now the three of us are all we've got, and Doran needs your full attention, which means it's up to K'Gan and me. If we can't save the _Raqtal_ , no one can!"

"With all due respect, Nita, I don't think we'll be doing any saving," said K'Gan. "Our shield emitters are burnt out. The torpedo launcher's inoperative, and disruptors are at half power. We wouldn't even put a dent in that heavy cruiser's shields!"

"There's got to be an opening," Nita said, bringing the ship around in a wide turn. "Scan that heavy cruiser. They have to have taken some damage!"

K'Gan leaned over his console, keying in commands and examining the display. "You're right!" he said at last. "Their dorsal shield grid is offline, weapons too!"

"If we take them from above, they'll be completely vulnerable!" Nita said, laying in a course. It was simple and direct, but it was the best she could manage.

"Even with their shields offline, our disruptors are too weak to penetrate far into their hull," K'Gan said. "We'll get their attention, but won't seriously hurt them. It won't be enough to stop them from killing us, then finishing off the _Raqtal_."

"If we target their warp core—"

"Even with a perfectly lined-up shot, we'd still have to penetrate at least three decks layered with ablative armor." K'Gan shook his head. "At half power, our disruptors just wouldn't be enough!"

Nita paused, thinking. "K'Gan, you said it was possible to route warp power to the disruptors," she said.

"Only for ten seconds, fifteen at most," he said. "After that, with the state the ship's in, it would burn out our entire weapon's array!"

"We're only going to get one shot at this anyway," said Nita. "Will that be enough to cut through to their warp core?"

K'Gan smiled. "With warp power, you could blast clean through to their warp core from any point on the ship!"

"Then do it!" said Nita. They were diving on the _Sovereign_ -class ship now, it's massive sleek saucer section and secondary hull growing larger on the viewscreen. Nita could see it exchanging fire with the Raqtal. She winced as a trio of quantum torpedoes tore into the battered Klingon cruiser, causing explosions all along her frame. She forced herself to turn her attention to the tactical periscope, and centering the triangular targeting reticle over the main power signature of the Starfleet heavy cruiser: it's warp core. She watched the rangefinder count down: 300,000 kelicams…200,000…100,000 kelicams. The Starfleet heavy cruiser dominated the viewscreen. "K'Gan!" she prompted.

"Almost ready!" K'Gan said, hands flying over the controls.

Nita gripped controls of the gunner's periscope. The rangefinder was showing 75,000 kelicams…now 50,000! Soon they'd be too close to safely breach the core of the enemy ship. On the viewscreen she could also see a fresh barrage of phaser fire rip a nacelle off of the Raqtal, before it was obscured by the Sovereign-class ship's saucer section. "K'Gan! We don't have time!"

"Ready now!" K'Gan announced.

 _Finally!_ Nita moved her fingers to the firing studs. "Drop cloak and transfer warp power to the disruptor cannons!" The image on the viewscreen wavered as the bird-of-prey decloaked. Sparks flew from an overhead line and Nita's displays registered a massive surge of power in the disruptor cannons. She checked her aim one last time and pulled both triggers.

Bright flashes of disruptor fire burst from both cannons of the little _B'rel_ -class bird-of-prey, ripping into the unprotected secondary hull of the _Sovereign_ -class ship, blasting deep craters into the surface. Then there was another, larger explosion from inside the Starfleet ship, splitting its engineering section down the middle. Moments later the entire ship was annihilated in a brilliant white-hot fireball.

The blast wave caught the _Ki'tang_. Nita clung to the periscope to avoid being thrown to the deck as the ship shook beneath her. Then the shaking was over. She looked over to K'Gan.

He met her gaze. "That blast wave knocked out our propulsion and weapons systems, but we're intact. No further damage. And the enemy ship was destroyed!"

Nita smiled at the victory. "And the _Raqtal_?"

K'Gan tapped his console and frowned. "The _Raqtal_ 's taken critical damage. The jamming field is still active, but they have a warp core breach in progress."

"Lifesigns?"

"Twenty-one," K'Gan reported grimly. "Out of a crew of two hundred!"

Nita moved to K'Gan's side. "We have to get them out of there! Can you get a transporter lock?"

K'Gan nodded.

"Beam them to the medical bay," Nita said. She turned to Paq. "Looks like you're about to have a lot more patients," she said.

Paq huffed as he helped Doran to her feet. She was still obviously injured, but the bleeding had been stopped and a large square patch of surgical plaster covered her left eye. "Let's hope I have enough time to treat them!"

Nita nodded grimly, thinking of the Federation fleet still fighting down below them, and about the fact that they were about to become aware of the presence of the Klingon reinforcements, when the _Raqtal_ 's warp core finally breached. "Let's hope J'mpok makes it in time, or this is all going to be for nothing!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Doran's loss of an eye in this chapter (or more the revelation that she's lost the eye) is a reference to her eye-patched appearance in the Klingon tutorial missions in _Star Trek Online_.

The mention of ablative hull armor on the _Sovereign_ -class is...from no where apparently. I could have sworn there was a reference to the _Sovereign_ -class being built with ablative armor sandwiched between her decks, like the internal armor of real wet-navy warships, but I can't find it anywhere. I may have made it up...

But in any case, I'm standing by it. The _Sovereign_ -class was designed and later refitted after the _USS Defiant_ had amply proven how powerful ablative armor could be, and the _Sovereign_ -class was designed to serve as the premier Starfleet capital ship in combat against the Borg and the Dominion. It makes sense to me that ablative armor would be a part of that design.

The trick of routing warp power to weapons reappears here! And, as I mentioned back in _Survivors of Yamatai_ , the _Sovereign_ -class _USS Endurance_ really is destroyed here, with all hands. I am sad to see them go, but a promise is a promise. Also, such is the nature of war. There are good and bad people on every side, and a lot of them don't make it.


	22. The Conclusion

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

 ** _The Conclusion_**

* * *

 _Admiral Vorix's Log,_ USS Odin _, the Ninth Fleet, Supplemental:_

 _The defense forces at Ganalda Station have proven…remarkably stubborn. Despite the damage we've done to the fleet of their overlords, the Klingon's vassals seem willing to fight to the death for them. Incredibly illogical! The Ninth Fleet has sustained heavy losses, with an estimated 63.6% of our vessels being destroyed or disabled, but the defense force is down to its last ships. Our victory is immanent, and with it the fall of the Klingon Empire._

* * *

Admiral Vorix clung to the armrests of his chair as the _Odin_ trembled from another quantum torpedo hit from that T-shaped Klingon heavy cruiser, until the answering volley of five torpedoes from the _Odin_ 's forward launchers wracked the enemy ship with explosions and silenced its weapons for good. "Finally!" Vorix sighed and straightened his uniform jacket. "Report," he prompted.

"They're disabled, sir: adrift, but salvageable," reported the Kasheeta science officer. "Transponder on that ship reads _IKS Vor'Kang_ , possibly the first of its class. I've figured out why she was giving us so much trouble, Admiral. Her hull armor is composed of a dense diburnium alloy, very resistant to phaser fire."

"Have a team from the transport board that ship and take hull samples," Vorix ordered. "And the rest of their fleet?"

"All disabled or destroyed, sir, with the exception of a handful of Orion corvettes and cruisers, plus some of their fighters," reported the Rigelian tactical officer. "The _Claudius_ and her remaining escort are keeping what's left of their right flank busy while the _Manticore_ keeps the remaining Orion cruiser in our area back by the disabled _Negh'Var_ -class. There's nothing left to stand in our way!"

Vorix nodded. The conclusion was satisfactory, though the amount of time, effort, and loss involved to achieve it was decidedly less so. Each of the groups he'd sent to deal with the flank attacks had been cut down to roughly half strength, or less. His center group had also suffered considerable casualties, with the loss of both the _Vanguard_ and _Sentinel_ -class battlecruisers, both _Promethius_ -class battleships, and the crippling of one of the _Typhoon_ -class battleships. The _Odin_ itself had suffered serious damage to its forward shields, reducing them to a paltry 23%. Vorix had not expected such fierce resistance, particularly from the vassals of the Klingons. Nevertheless, costly or not, his victory had come. He had, of course, never doubted that it would. It had been an inescapable conclusion.

An alert from the science station broke him out of his contemplation. The Kasheeta's claws twitched over the console. "Admiral! The _Endurance_ has just been destroyed!"

Vorix turned to the science officer. "Clarify," he prompted.

"The _Endurance_ was the last of our ships on the Klingon flank attack. They were just finishing off a Klingon cruiser, _K't'inga_ -refit class, when a bird-of-prey decloaked right on top of them and destroyed them! They must have hit the warp core," she said, obviously upset.

Vorix saw no point to the emotional display. "Status of the bird-of-prey?"

"Disabled," said the Kasheeta. "The _K't'inga_ -refit is critically damaged as well."

"Then there should be no further issue," said Vorix. He turned to his communications officer. "Send the _Envoy_ -class and their remaining _Vesper_ -class light cruiser to finish off the Klingon flank. I want every vessel seized or destroyed. There are to be no more surprises."

"Aye, sir!" the Arbazan said.

Vorix nodded his satisfaction as his orders were carried out. He proceeded with the next phase of his plan. "Helm, take us to within 200,000 kilometers of the station and engage their defenses."

As the Zaranite helmsman laid in a course, the Xelatian ops officer warned, "Sir, our forward shields won't take much more beating!"

"They will not be required to," said Vorix. "The station's defenses will not hold out for long." He turned back to the Arbazan communications officer. "Signal the transport and its escorts to join us, the remaining _Typhoon_ -class as well. All other ships are to form up on the station with us as soon as they're finished dispatching their current targets."

But before the Arbazan could respond, the Kasheeta spoke up again. "Sir, that _K't'inga_ -refit class cruiser just suffered a warp core breach. They were projecting a of jamming field across our long-range sensors, aft quarter only…" An alert sounded at her console. An edge of panic came to her voice. "Admiral, I have two large subspace distortions closing from astern! Definitely cloaked ships!"

"Range?" Vorix demanded.

"They're right on top of us, sir!" said the Kasheeta. "Dropping out of warp and decloaking now!"

"On screen!" shouted Vorix.

The viewscreen changed to show the _Hope_ -class transport, surrounded by a _Guardian_ -class heavy cruiser and two _Excaliber_ -class light cruisers. Huge portions of the starfield behind and to either side of them wavered and resolved into a pair of massive Klingon dreadnoughts, each well over a kilometer long. Eight ships launched in pairs from the hangers underneath the dreadnoughts' angled wings. They came out sideways, then quickly righted themselves. The single wing beneath them split and unfolded into a pair of skeletal wings ending in huge disruptor cannons as long as the _Excalibur_ -class' nacelles. Then their necks extended, locking into place. In a matter of seconds, Vorix was looking at eight carrier-launched birds-of-prey, far larger and more advanced than any on record. Each of them was easily larger than the _Excalibur_ -class ships, probably twice the size of the _Norgh_ -class birds-of-prey they'd faced so far. "Impossible…" Vorix whispered. The Klingons didn't have anywhere near the technology necessary to construct carrier-launched escorts, much less escorts so advanced and large they dwarfed anything comparable fielded by Starfleet. "They simply can't!"

But that didn't stop it from happening. The Klingon dreadnoughts swept a pair of disruptor beams, one from each ship, down the centerline of the transport, easily overwhelming its shields and cutting it in two. As the _Guardian_ -class ship and its _Excalibur_ -class escorts scrambled to respond to the new threat, they were set upon by the new birds-of-prey. Both _Excalibur_ -class ships were blown apart in seconds by volleys of disruptor fire from those huge cannons. The _Guardian_ -class heavy cruiser twisted, trying to get away as the agile, deadly birds-of-prey pounded down its shields. Then a volley of a dozen quantum torpedoes from one of the dreadnoughts collapsed it shields, and a barrage of disruptor beams from the other dreadnought tore the ship to pieces.

In the space of half a minute, the Klingon dreadnought carriers and their escorts had destroyed four starships and ruined all Admiral Vorix's plans. There was now no chance of Federation victory here.

As Vorix watched the scene unfold, he found himself experiencing the cold grip of something primal in his gut and realized it was fear. He stared in mute fascination as the impossible happened before his eyes, the impossible birds-of-prey splitting up to go after the Federation fleet's flanks while the dreadnoughts, which could only be the Vo'Quv and one of her sister ships—ships which could not possibly be here—came straight for the _Odin_. His mind whirled for explanations: perhaps a sensor glitch, perhaps a hallucination, a dream, or a psychic attack. But he was finally forced to conclude the most horrible thing of all: that it was real, and that his logic had, inexplicably, been flawed.

Distantly, he became aware that someone was calling out for him—had been calling out for over a minute. It was the Arbazan communications officer: a Lieutenant-Commander in Starfleet blues, male, with changes in skin pigmentation that indicated a higher than average age for a member of his species. Vorix could not remember the man's name—he was not sure if he'd ever bothered to learn it—and somehow that seemed both relevant and…sad. He managed to shake the feeling off long enough to hear what the nameless Lieutenant-Commander was saying, "Admiral! Sir, they're coming for the rest of the fleet! What are your orders?!"

"Orders?" Vorix repeated. It seemed an odd thing to ask for order of any sort in the midst of such chaos. Yet that, of course, was his job. His responsibility was to give order in the midst of chaos. The lives of men like this middle-aged Arbazan Lieutenant-Commander depended on him performing that responsibility, and Vorix felt a little ill realizing he may have already failed him and everyone else in the Ninth Fleet. He straightened his uniform reflexively, forced himself to examine the situation with as much cool logic as he could muster. "Our position is not tenantable," he concluded quickly. "We must retreat in order! Order all ships to form up on the _Odin_ and prepare to warp out of system."

It was a good order, he thought, as he heard the Arbazan repeat it over the com channels. The situation truly was hopeless if they did not withdraw, and historically poorly organized retreats had proven to be far more devastating than the battles that preceded them.

But the situation defied order. The _Envoy_ -class starship— _Curzon_ , Vorix remembered—and its _Vesper_ -class companion— _Terce_ —had come too close to the Klingon reinforcements in their effort to reach the position of the Klingon flank attack. They were set upon by four of the birds-of-prey. The _Terce_ 's shields were overwhelmed by a volley of powerful canon fire, then the ship itself was blown apart by torpedo hits. Vorix mentally calculated the casualties: 389 from the loss of that ship alone. But the number itself was meaningless next to the staggering weight of the loss of actual lives: 389 individuals who would never breathe or eat or speak or think again, hundreds of mates who would morn their own private loss for months to come, hundreds of children who would grow up wondering what their parents had been like and if they had loved them in the end, a thousand friends and relatives who would—even if they were Vulcan—be wracked with emotion at the news. Vorix tried to wrap his mind around the enormous scale of the tragedy wrought by the destruction of that one ship, itself a mere fraction of the loss the men and women of the Ninth Fleet (and their mates, children, and loved ones) had already endured.

As he did so, the _Curzon_ was swarmed by the birds-of-prey, desperately trying to avoid them as it struggled back to the rest of the fleet.

Meanwhile he could see the other four birds-of-prey closing in on the remainder of his other flank. There the _Callisto_ -class light escort— _Europa_ —managed to outpace the enemy ships and make it back to the _Odin_. But the larger, slower _Sovereign_ -class _Claudius_ was overtaken by the birds-of-prey, and still beset by the last surviving Orion corvettes. Under their combined fire the _Claudius_ ' already-damaged shields collapsed. Vorix watched helplessly as a blast from a bird-of-prey's heavy cannons shattered one of the _Claudius_ ' nacelles. It was then that he realized there wasn't going to be an orderly retreat.

"Sir, the _Claudius_ and the _Curzon_ are reporting damage to their warp drives!" the communication's officer reported. "They're not going to make it!"

"We have to rescue them!" said the Kasheeta—Lieutenant Lyliam, Vorix recalled.

"If we get any closer, we'll need rescuing!" said the Rigelian, Lieutenant-Commander Dos Vledan.

Just then two dozen quantum torpedoes slammed into the _Odin_ from the approaching Klingon dreadnoughts, proving Dos Vledan right. The Xelatian Lieutenant at Ops, whose name Vorix was sure could not be even approximated with any justice in Federation Standard, warned, "Aft shields down to 53%!"

"Order a general retreat!" Vorix said, abandoning any pretense of preserving order or pride. "Every ship for itself, make best speed for Starbase 118!"

"Every ship for itself, sir?" the middle-aged Arbazan repeated, seemingly in disbelief.

Vorix nodded solemnly. "If we do not go to warp individually, as quickly as possible, it is unlikely any of us will escape!"

"But, sir—" Lyliam began.

Vorix shook his head sternly. "Those are my orders!" he said firmly. There was no time to entertain debate. He turned to the front of the bridge, to the Zaranite helmsman, Lieutenant Zarella. "Bring us about on an escape vector and go to maximum warp!" he ordered.

That galvanized what was left of the Ninth Fleet into action. The Lieutenant-Commander at the com station relayed Vorix's orders. Moments later, the _Europa_ went to warp, fleeing the system. Vorix could only hope that its limited-duration warp drive would allow it to get far enough away to escape the Klingons. It was followed shortly by the _Manticore_ , finishing off the Orion cruiser it had been dueling with and then going to warp. The remaining _Typhoon_ -class battleship, _Tempest_ , hesitated, coming about and trying to engage the Klingon dreadnoughts in an effort to buy the _Odin_ the time that the massive ship needed to turn ponderously toward open space.

"Order the _Tempest_ to disengage and withdraw immediately!" Vorix commanded, having to shout to be heard over the sound of another bombardment of disruptor beams and torpedoes slamming into the _Odin_ 's shields.

"I've tried, sir!" said the Arbazan. "Captain Luvaar refuses to leave until the _Odin_ is clear. He says he's willing to face a court martial for this!"

"He may not live long enough for a court martial!" said Dos Vledan. "His shields are already weak and we're in no position to provide effective fire support!"

The _Odin_ trembled from another round of bombardment. "Aft shields at 19%!" the Xelatian Lieutenant warned.

"How long till we can go to warp?" Vorix asked.

"Four minutes!" said Lieutenant Zarella. "There are too many debris ahead and our shields are too weak to protect us. We'll have to complete an almost 90-degree turn before we can warp out of the system!"

The bridge shook again before the oncoming Klingon dreadnoughts began focusing their fire on the _Tempest_ rather than the _Odin_. Vorix knew it wasn't going to be enough, though. Even as he watched, the _Claudius_ was destroyed and the four advanced birds-of-prey that were hounding it came after the _Odin_ instead, strafing first its aft shields, then its forward shields. The _Odin_ returned fire, phasers lancing out at the enemy ships from dozens of arrays. One of the birds-of-prey lost its shields and a phaser beam tore one if its skeletal wings in half, but the other three continued their attacks, making another set of strafing runs on the Odin.

Sparks rained down around the bridge. "Aft shields failing!" the Xelatian warned. "Forward shields down to 13%!"

"The _Curzon_ 's just been destroyed! They took out one of the birds-of-prey, but we have three more coming our way!" said Lieutenant Lyliam. Another round of sparks rained down and a console on the perimeter of the bridge exploded, throwing a hapless human crewman to the deck, dead. Lyliam gripped the edges of her console with her claws to stay upright as the bridge shook. Another alert sounded from her console. "Sir, the _Tempest_ 's shields have failed and their engines are offline! The _Vo'Quv_ has disengaged from the _Tempest_ and is coming straight for us!"

A moment later her warning was proven by the whole deck shaking violently. Half a dozen consoles exploded and a beam fell from the ceiling in the rear of the bridge, crushing the Deltan flight control officer—Lieutenant-Commander Aanock—and four others.

Vorix was thrown from his chair. He crawled across the debris-covered deck and pulled himself back into the chair, noticing as he did so that he was bleeding from a cut above his eyebrow. He tried to wipe the green blood away. "Report!" he shouted.

The Xelatian Lieutenant pulled himself back to his console via his suits tendrils. His uniform was damp, clearly the suit underneath was leaking and the aquatic Xelatian would not last long. But as his voice synthesizer read out the report, Vorix doubted he or anyone else on the bridge would live long enough to die of the injuries they'd sustained thusfar. "Admiral, our shields are down! We've taken a direct hit to the aft hanger bay! Massive damage to thirteen decks from secondary explosions, and the impulse engines are offline!"

"Can we go to warp?!"

"No, sir!" said Lieutenant Zarella. "The nacelle pylons have buckled and I'm not getting any power to the warp drive! Even if we were, going to warp now would result in a collision with the disabled Klingon battleship, at relativistic speeds. We wouldn't survive!"

The bridge shook again, though less violently. "Abandon ship!" Vorix ordered. Even as he gave the order, though, he knew it was too late. Without shields and heavily damaged, he doubted the _Odin_ would last long enough for most of the crew, including the bridge crew, to make it to escape pods. Even if they did, the escape pods would never be able to evade the Klingons and leave the system, and he was sure that the Klingons would not take prisoners after a battle as devastating as this one had been.

The vessel shook again, violently, as the _Vo'Quv_ tore into its engineering hull with powerful disruptor beams and quantum torpedoes, seeking its warp core and volatile antimatter pods. The last thing Admiral Vorix felt was despair.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I admit it was a pleasure breaking Vorix down here. He was very full of himself and a little annoying to write, but seeing him slowly realize that he was wrong— _catestrophically_ wrong—was worth it.

Since the Ninth Fleet started with 33 starships, the 63.6% figure that Vorix quotes at the beginning means 12 ships remain. For anyone who's curious, but mostly to check my own math, these are (in order of them meeting their fate):

1) The _Sovereign_ -class heavy cruiser _Endurance_ —destroyed by the _Ki'tang_

2) The _Hope_ -class transport _Resolute_ —destroyed by the _Vo'Quv_ and the _Chang_

3) An unnamed _Excalibur_ -class light cruiser—destroyed by 4 carrier-launched _HoH'SuS_ -class birds-of-prey

4) The _Excalibur_ -class light cruiser _Caliburn_ —destroyed by 4 other carrier-launched _HoH'Sus_ -class birds-of-prey

5) A _Guardian_ -class heavy cruiser—destroyed by the _Vo'Quv_

6) The _Vesper_ -class light cruiser _Terce_ —destroyed by 4 carrier-launched _HoH'SuS_ -class birds-of-prey

7) The _Sovereign_ -class heavy cruiser _Claudius_ —destroyed by 4 carrier-launched _HoH'SuS_ -class birds-of-prey

8) The _Callisto_ -class light escort _Europa_ —escaped the battle

9) The _Chimera_ -class battleship _Manticore_ —escaped the battle

10) The _Typhoon_ -class battleship _Tempest_ —destroyed by the _Chang_

11) The _Envoy_ -class heavy cruiser _Curzon_ —destroyed by 3 carrier-launched _HoH'SuS_ -class birds-of-prey

12) The _Jupiter_ -class dreadnought carrier _Odin_ —destroyed by the _Vo'Quv_

By these figures only 6% of the ships the Federation sent to Galanda IV made it back. Of course, considering that the dreadnought, transport, and two largest battleships were among the ships destroyed, it's a given that a much larger percentage of the actual Starfleet officers sent to Ganalda IV never made it back.

The _IKS Vor'Kang_ is a variant of the Teir 4 Klingon cruiser in _Star Trek Online_. It's a variant of the _Vor'Cha_ -class battlecruiser, which was first seen in TNG: "Reunion." The _Vor'Kang_ was said to be specifically designed to combat the Federation, so I figured it would make sense to be one of the earlier wartime designs fielded by the Klingons, and for this to be its debut battle. I wanted to give it a step up in technology to represent the fact that the Klingon Empire is, contrary to Vorix's assessment and the overall appearance of their relatively dated ships, working on some serious innovations. I originally gave it ablative armor based on a neutronium alloy because I thought I'd seen something like this in a lore article, but when looking for my sources, I couldn't find that. So I changed it to diburnium armor instead, which does appear in the game. It also appears in Star Trek lore itself, mostly in the original series where diburnium was used as armor by the Kelvans, which was almost impervious to phaser fire (TOS: "By Any Other Name") and also by the Kalandan with much the same effect (TOS: "That Which Survives"). While both of these were extremely advanced civilizations, tetraburnium was used in the Delta Flier's hull (VOY: "Extreme Risk") and the inhabitants of Rigel VIII used diburnium to make bar stools ( _TOS: Prime Directive_ ) so it seems plausible that the Klingons could figure out how to make their own hull armor out of the stuff with enough effort.

The _HoH'SuS_ -class bird-of-prey is a Tier 5 raider in _Star Trek Online_. It's also a deployable NPC "combat pet" for players who own the _Bortasqu'_ -class battlecruiser (a dreadnought whose early trials are portrayed in the game, which means that it isn't launched until 2409 and may still be on the drawing board while the Battle of Ganalda IV—the outpost that would eventually launch it—was being fought). While this is much more a separation of one part of the ship than a hanger launch in the case of the _Bortasqu'_ -class, I thought that the launch plus the skeletal, stripped-down look of the _HoH'SuS_ -class and its folding wings would make for an ideal carrier-launched bird-of-prey. The only thing that doesn't jive with this is the size of the _HoH'SuS_ -class, which is 344 meters, more than twice the size of the _B'rel_ or _Norg_ -class birds-of-prey and far larger than the carrier-launched Federation _Callisto_ -class, which is only 190 meters long.

The _Vo'Quv_ -class is said on Memory Beta to be capable of launching four full-size birds-of-prey, but I've never heard of it launching anything other than _B'rel_ -class ships. For me, though the apparent design of the _HoH'SuS_ -class for carrier operations plus the fact that I'd established _B'rel_ -class birds-of-prey as second-rate antiques employed on the battlefield mainly out of desperation made me decide to have the _Vo'Quv_ and her sister-ship, the _Chang_ , deploy _HoH'SuS_ -class ships instead. Besides, the shocked expression on Admiral Vorix' face was priceless!

Speaking of Vorix' shock, I wanted to portray the impact of the sudden reversal on Vorix' character. Previously, I made Vorix very focused on the diversity of the Federation, but in a superficial way. No two of his bridge officers are of the same species, but in his POV narration, none of them are named, they're simply called by their race. Similarly, the Federation ships involved in the battle were incredibly diverse, but in Vorix' narration that diversity is only hull-deep and they're only called by whatever classes they are. I wanted to portray Vorix realizing not just his tactical error, but the deeper philosophical error of his diversity-shrouded racism, wherein he saw the Klingons, Orions, Gorn, and even the members of his own crew not as individuals but as racial stereotypes, walking talking tokens he could predict every time and understand entirely at a glance. I wanted his realization that he was wrong about the Klingons—that the Klingons were people with rational and irrational sides, not just bloodthirsty infighting stereotypes—to also cause him to realize that he was wrong about these others as well and begin (too late) to see them as individuals. I also extended this to the ships and crews, causing him to start using individual ship names and even agonize over casualty figures as lost people rather than lost numbers. Hopefully I handled that well, but let me know if you thought otherwise.

The crew count for the _Vesper_ -class _Terce_ was based on the Memory Beta figure of a crew of 400 for that ship. The ship's name comes from the Third Hour (9am) prayer service of traditional Christian liturgies (especially monastic traditions), which I chose because the class name, _Vesper_ , is also the name of the evening prayer in the same traditions.


	23. After the Battle

Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

 ** _After the Battle_**

* * *

 _Ganalda Station, Year of Kahless 1032, Day 323, 11:17 Hours_

 _Nita of the House of Morath's Personal Log:_

 _It's been two days since the battle. We're still picking up the pieces. The_ Ki'tang _has been towed into Ganalda Station, like so many other ships, and has been undergoing repairs. Some things aren't so easily fixed though. The_ Raqtal _is no more, destroyed with 179 warriors aboard, including Morath's son, K'mar! Doran is permanently disfigured with the loss of her left eye. And Morath is still in critical condition under the care of Paq. Ganalda Station may be secure, but my future and the future of the House of Morath is anything but._

* * *

Nita stared out the armored viewport of Ganalda Station, looking at the debris fields that hung between the station and the stars beyond. Between her and them, she could see the _Ki'tang_ , docked now with one of the station's short arms. Black scorch marks marred the olive colored hull of the bird-of-prey's command section and engineering hull in patches.

"It's not as bad as it looks," K'Gan assured her, standing beside her. "Ch'gren and his teams already have the damage repaired inside. They even replaced the doors to the bridge! All the Ki'tang really needs now is a fresh coat of paint, and she'll be ready for battle again."

"We were lucky," Nita reflected. "The damage could have been much worse, and most of the crew could have been dead instead of merely stunned."

"A lot of us were lucky," said K'Gan. "A lot of the ships we lost in the battle were merely disabled, not destroyed, and with the Station so close, even some of the destroyed ships are salvageable. They say it could take as little as four months to repair or rebuild most of the ships lost here today. And with Ganalda Station firmly in our hands, we'll be able to continue building new ships, like the _Vor'Kang_ -class, and even those new _HoH'SuS_ -class birds-of-prey. Our new fleet will be larger and grander than the first. We'll press the Federation back after this victory!"

Nita pictured the skeletal carrier-launched birds-of-prey taking on Starfleet heavy cruisers without the advantage of overwhelming numbers or a nearby _Vo'Quv_ -class dreadnought to support them. She shook her head. "The _HoH'SuS_ -class is powerful, but too delicate, and they have no sense of style. The _Vor'Kang_ -class on the other hand…" Nita smiled. She had seen some of the sensor data of the battle after the fact. The new heavy cruiser design had taken an impressive amount of fire, and in the end still remained repairable in just 12 hours. "When we can build birds-of-prey like that, then we'll truly be ready to take on the Federation in their own space!" And she wanted to do just that. There was a lot that had been lost during the battle that ought to be avenged.

"It will be a long time before we can take the fight to the Federation again," said Doran, coming up behind them and joining them. "The Federation fleet we defeated here represents only a fraction of their strength. They have over a hundred fleets of similar size scattered across their space, as well as guarding their interests in Cardassian space and along the Romulan border. For us, the Battle of Ganalda IV will be remembered as a great victory, but for them it will be only a temporary setback. We may have won the battle, but we are a long way from winning the war."

Nita turned to Doran and forced herself not to avert her gaze from the warrior-woman's face. A long, dark scar ran vertically down her face, from the crest of her first cranial ridge down her left cheek almost to the corner of her mouth. A black eyepatch was strapped over her left eye: a reminder that not everything that had been lost in the battle could be repaired or replaced so easily. "The battle was very costly for us, too," she said.

K'Gan nodded. "Over 5,000 Klingon warriors died in battle, and the Orions suffered similar casualties. The only reason fewer Gorn died was because fewer made it to the battle in the first place. As it is, all 3,000 of them who came died in battle, as warriors."

"They fought with honor," Nita acknowledged, but her mind was on a more personal cost. "Did you come from the medical bay, Doran?" she asked.

Doran nodded. "Paq has done all he can for Morath for now," she said.

"How is he? Is he awake? Will he recover?" Nita asked.

"Come and see." Doran waved for her and K'Gan to follow as she led the way through the broad corridors of the Station to the medical bay. When they arrived, she led them through the main examination and surgical bays to a private intensive care unit in the back. There they found Morath lying on a stasis bed, with Paq studying a monitoring console nearby.

Morath stirred as they entered. "We have visitors, Doctor," he said. He tried to push himself up but grimaced in pain and was forced to lay back down. "I hope you'll forgive me if I don't get up."

Paq rolled his eyes. "They won't have much choice, given your condition." He turned to Nita and K'Gan. "I've repaired the worst of the damage, enough that he will live, but his spinal cord was shattered and crushed. He's paralyzed from the waist down. He cannot walk."

"The good doctor assures me that my condition is not permanent," said Morath. "Whether or not I believe him is another matter."

"He will walk again, on my honor as a warrior and a surgeon," said Paq. "Worf son of Mogh suffered a similar injury once, and that was _before_ he won Champion Standing in the _bat'leth_ tournament on Forcas III. You will receive the same treatment: genetronic replication and replacement of your spinal column. Of course, it will take longer to treat you than it took to treat him. I'll have to build most of the equipment from scratch and I'll have to update the original doctor's research, but I assure you, it _will_ work. I'll need to place you in a stasis field, to minimize the risk of further damage to your spine and nervous system, and to allow me to conduct the intensive scans the genetronic replication will require. With all that, plus the necessary testing, you'll need to be in stasis for about six months, and the sooner I start it, the less muscle deterioration we'll have to deal with when you come back out."

Morath frowned, but nodded. He turned to Doran, Nita, and K'Gan. "So, it seems I'm soon to take a long sleep. But before I begin it, I have some unfinished business."

"Jurlek," Doran said.

Morath nodded and bared his teeth. "That coward cost me my son and my ship, and the lives of 178 of the finest warriors I've ever served with! I will bring him down to _Gre'thor_ for this!"

"We have no definitive proof," Doran said. "Nothing we can bring before the Council."

"I will not need proof when I sink my son's _d'k tahg_ into that coward's heart!" Morath said. He gave them a stern look though. "You three were all there, especially you, Doran. You know what he did and what he deserves, but I want the satisfaction of striking him down with my own hands. Promise me you will not deny me the right of vengeance!"

"I swear, on my honor as a warrior and as _gin'tak_ of your House," Doran said solemnly.

"All of you, swear," Morath said. "Jurlek must know nothing of this. If he knew, he would not hesitate to come in here and plunge a knife into my heart as I slept!"

"Not to mention the fact that Jurlek's survival and the continued patronage of the House of Torg will be necessary to afford all the medical equipment that I'll need to heal you," Paq said.

"Swear!" Morath commanded.

"We swear!" K'Gan and Nita said together.

"Good," said Morath, relaxing and apparently satisfied. "You have both done me great honor, not only in this, but also in the battle. I am told by Doran and Paq that I and the other twenty-one survivors of the _Raqtal_ owe you our lives, and indeed, it would not be too much a stretch to say that the Klingon Empire owes you for this victory—though, of course, J'mpok has already claimed the credit for himself!" He examined them carefully and nodded his approval. "You have proven yourselves warriors, and more! You will wear your own _d'k tahgs_ as a badge of honor, and wear the uniforms of officers. K'Gan, for your actions in retaking of the ship and your support in the subsequent battle, you will be awarded the rank of Lieutenant and given the role of Second Engineering Officer aboard the _Ki'tang_. You will study under Ch'gren, and I have no doubt you will eventually learn to take a higher rank even than that! As for you, Nita, your heroism deserves an even greater honor. You will be a Lieutenant and take the position of Third Officer aboard the _Ki'tang_ , under T'Lak and Doran—and, of course, temporarily, under Jurlek. You will learn the skills of command, and in time, you will be a captain, as was your father before you!"

Nita could not help but break out into a smile. "I am greatly honored, sir!" she said.

"I am honored, to have you as a warrior and officer for my House," said Morath. He turned to Doran. "Watch over her for me," he instructed. "She may well be a greater warrior than either of us someday!"

Doran clutched a hand to her chest. "I will guard her honor and her life as my own," she said.

Morath nodded. Then turned to Paq. "I am ready, doctor."

Paq nodded and began lowering the stasis chamber door. Nita watched the chamber close, then activate. She wiped away a tear, then turned and followed Doran out of the medical bay and to the _Ki'tang_ to begin her new life, as a soldier of the Empire.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Thanks for reading this far!

I figured that the nearby presence of Ganalda Station, which I established as an important Klingon shipyard and drydock facility, would greatly speed the Klingon Empire's ability to recover its losses from the battle. The fact that Starfleet was, as usual, hoping to capture rather than kill as many enemy ships and personnel as possible would also contribute to a rapid recovery.

While I appreciated the carrier-launched look of the _HoH'SuS_ -class bird-of-prey in the previous chapter, on the whole, I agree with Nita. Call me a purist, but I like the more classically shaped _B'rel_ and _Norg_ classes better.

Doran's statement about the Federation having hundreds of fleets the size of the Ninth Fleet is my attempt to reconcile, in part, the small number of ships used in this battle with the larger fleets of the Dominion War era. The overall size of Starfleet would still be smaller, but divided into smaller fleets this way it would be able to better patrol its space and be more involved in the affairs of the galaxy, as _Star Trek Online_ portrays.

The numbers of losses are rough estimates on my part, based on the crew compliments of the few ships that are known (like the _Raqtal_ ) and extrapolated.

Morath is not among the casualties. It was always my intention to make him survive the battle, though I admit how and his fate afterward was something I came up with while working through the many drafts of this story. The injury he sustained from the beam is very similar to the injury sustained by Worf in TNG: "Ethics". In that episode a Federation specialist named Dr Toby Russell was able to heal Worf from a paralysis caused by a crushed spinal column by using a genetronic replicator to replace his spinal column. The procedure was extremely dangerous and invasive and Worf nearly died on the table during the then-experimental procedure. While Paq would probably never have worked with Dr Toby Russell directly, its probable that she or someone else shared the results of her experimental treatment with the Klingon Empire. While the Federation banned the procedure due to its high mortality rate and the Klingon Empire (according to the episode) would not have been much interested due to their philosophy that warriors should either die on the battlefield or commit suicide with honor, Paq still could have gained access to it and with 40 years of technological development, its likely he could improve upon the original technique.

Paq's reference to Worf's victory in the _bat'leth_ tournament is a reference to a later TNG episode, "Parallels", which is itself referenced by _Star Trek Online_ , which uses the _bat'leth_ competition on Forcas III as the setting of one of its missions.

While in the _Star Trek Online_ game Jurlek is portrayed as a coward and traitor that First Officer Duran has spent a lot of time building a case against to bring before the Klingong High Council (presumably for discommendation, the ceremonial stripping of a warrior's honor and the legal removal of his rights and reduction to virtual exile, as portrayed in TNG: "Sins of the Father", "Reunion", and DS9: "House of Quark"), I have to admit that the case against him at this point is fairly weak. Yes, he cloaked the _Ki'tang_ and moved it away from the engagement at a critical time, which resulted in the loss of the _Raqtal_. But how much difference the _Ki'tang_ really could have made (without going to the extremes of Nita's fortuitously-timed attack run anyway) is debatable. Also, Jurlek was not without a plausible explanation, in that had he not cloaked the ship, more Starfleet boarding parties could have come aboard (though its unlikely they would have bothered as they did quite well against Jurlek and his crew with just the first dozen soldiers to beam in). For a Starfleet captain, his actions might well be justifiable, but for a Klingon such failure and insufficient aggression would be definite flaws, especially in the eyes of characters who already dislike him, such as Morath, Duran, and Nita.

I did briefly want to make one thing clear, I do not intend this story, and its happy outcome for Nita, to imply that the Klingons were wrong to subject her to the Second Rite of Ascension, any more than I think a drill sergeant would be wrong for shouting at his recruits. Yes, it is horrible to shout insults at someone till they break down crying. It's also horrible to hit someone with painstiks till they pass out. But the realities of combat pale in comparison. In combat the enemy will not hesitate to hurtle insults, and grenades, and murder your best friend in front of you with a machete...and you will have to be able to take all that without breaking, and still be able to fight him and kill him in brutal hand-to-hand combat—because that might be the only way you and the rest of your unit (and whomever your unit is protecting) will live to see another day. In combat wounds and the traumatic deaths of your friends in front of you can hurt as much as painstiks...but you must, like Morath, be able to take it and keep fighting to the last—or your ship and your entire fleet (and the Klingon Empire) may be lost. Abusive drill sergeants, painful rituals, and even the hazing and hell-weeks that army schools and ship's companies will put newcomers through all serve one purpose above all else: to train the soldier to endure adversity without breaking, and to separate out those who cannot endure adversity so they are never put in a situation where their breaking will mean the deaths of themselves and all of their friends. To do this is essential not only to the survival of the unit and its success, but also to the survival of the recruit, who would much rather find out he can't cut it in the army when that merely means he needs to find a new job, than find out he cannot cut it in the army when that means he will be witnessing the deaths of his comrades and coming home himself in a bodybag. Nita's story does show that there is more than one kind of strength that can make a warrior, and that it is possible to fail one test and still make a capable soldier if given a second chance, but it does not invalidate the principle or necessity of having that test as a gatekeeper and a preparation for the sanity-breaking hardship of battle.

Anyway, this is the end! Thank you for reading! I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I have.


End file.
